


Truth

by JessiLynnChan



Category: Jak and Daxter
Genre: Action/Adventure, Anxiety, Anxious OC, Awkward OC, Cinnamon Roll, Developing Friendships, Drama, Eventual Romance, F/M, Gen, Original Character(s), Pre Jak II, Self-Esteem Issues, Slow Burn, Spies & Secret Agents, Trials, Underground, post Jak 1
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-01-16
Updated: 2020-01-28
Packaged: 2021-02-27 16:14:37
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 7
Words: 35,952
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22279990
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/JessiLynnChan/pseuds/JessiLynnChan
Summary: Cara isn't your average undercover agent, she's impulsive, clumsy and lacked experience. The Shadow however, had faith that she would be able to uncover the truth of these metal head attacks on the city that they loved; Haven City.The metal heads had to be getting in somewhere, and all signs pointed to their leader Baron Praxis.Is he corrupt? Was he controlling the Metal Heads that were getting into the city? What was he planning to do next?In this world on the brink of war, Cara must find the answers.
Relationships: Jak/Original Character(s) (Jak and Daxter), Torn/Original Character(s) (Jak and Daxter)
Comments: 12
Kudos: 3





	1. A Rocky Beginning

Cara was always a goofy clumsy girl; it was almost like trouble would find her always whether it was fate or something she had gotten herself into. She lost her parents when she was in her early teens due to an attack from the Metal Heads in her neighborhood. That was when she met The Shadow, also known as Samos.   
“Who are you?” She asked, tears in her emerald green eyes as she looked at the man with green skin. He looked like he was in his mid-forties, a large white mustache with hints of green was above his lips, his hair was in an afro style, almost reminding her of moss, accented by a large log. He wore a pair of glasses with miss matched lenses, his left side lense had an extra magnified lense on a hinge over his left eye.   
“I am Samos, I am so sorry for what has happened here.” He began, trying to find words for her. It made him seem like he had the knowledge to stop this event from occurring, but if anyone knew anything about time and fate, there were no preventing them.  
Samos took Cara in when she had nowhere else to go, she was thankful for having him in her life, even if it meant she would be joining the Underground movement. Samos wasn’t the nicest father figure she could have, but she would like to think that he kept her on her toes and taught her the ways of green eco and where to find it.  
“It’s for emergencies only!” She recalled him scolding her gently when she seemed to be wanting to go find said resource. “No one must find this resource of green eco or Baron Praxis will steal it. If he steals it, I will lose my power and the plants will all die.”  
Onin, a soothsayer had told Samos that he was a sage of green eco, destined to protect what remains of the greenery that surrounded Haven City. He was also destined for a greater purpose, but it was shrouded in mystery as to what that is.   
  
As Cara got older, the more she got involved in bigger missions, learning how to fight and even learning how to be a team player. That was, until she got her first solo mission. She was one of the least notorious members of the Underground and seemed to be the only one who could pull this off, despite being a young woman.   
“Cara, my dear; I need you to infiltrate the Krimzon Guard.” Samos asked her over dinner one evening. “We need to know who is actually with Praxis and who is wavering their loyalty. If we can find allies within the guard, we can get inside information on what Praxis is planning.”   
“What if no one knows that anything is wrong?”  
“Then you will have to work as our inside man, until Praxis reveals his true nature.”   
Cara was very skeptical that she was right for this mission, undercover work was never her forte, but Samos was right. She was less likely to be recognized as one of them. She was basically a ghost in Haven City, which made this job much easier.  
“You think he will do that? What do you think he is going to do?” Samos smiled at her, it was a sad smile, worried even. Samos could always see so much promise within her. Samos has always been levelheaded when it came to missions, stressing their importance, but speaking calmly as to not upset or distress whoever had to go on a mission. He was like a father to her, and she was happy that he had such confidence within her. “We hope to not find out.”

  
“There will be a defected member of the Krimzon Guard waiting for you at the pumping station, you are to collect the armor they have brought for you and return to the palace.” Samos instructed, pointing at the map that was stretched out across their table. “Get the information as safely as you can. We can’t afford for you to be captured by Praxis.”  
“Aw, Pop. You know he’d return me within the first hour of having me” Cara joked with a light chuckle, but Samos was not amused; “He will kill you if he gets his hands on you. This is no laughing matter Cara.”  
There he went, back to serious leader, stressing the importance of her mission. She gave him a long hug before she left for the pumping station, just in case things went wrong and she couldn’t find her way back.  
  
When she made it to the pumping station she was greeted by a man with blonde hair that was in a low pony tail, a red scarf around his neck and a cigar between his lips. “There you are, doll face.” Cara felt her face twist at his accent and nickname, but she decided to be polite. The smoke from his parted lips blew into her face as he presented her with her armor pieces and her face mask.  
“The Shadow asked me to alter this to your body type, I hope I got it right.” He said as he handed her the uniform. “Be careful in there, sweet cheeks. They’ll eat you up in there for sure.”  
Cara pulled the uniform on, it was tight fitting and the armor felt like it weighed a thousand pounds, but she could still stand, and that’s what mattered.  
“Ah, yeah. There you go.” The man was inspecting her, continuing to smoke his cigar as he watched her. “You’ll fit in nicely.”  
Cara felt her cheeks flare with the tone he was using, she didn’t know whether to be angry for being objectified like this or if she should take the compliment. She hoped that the men of the guard weren’t as sleezy as this guy was. She pulled her long fire colored hair into a ponytail to make her look more uniform, but she still felt like she was going to stick out like a sore thumb. Most if not all members of the Krimzon Guard had these tattoos that covered their face and body. She wasn’t exactly sure what her excuse would be if she didn’t have them, but she would figure that out when she got there.   
“Thank you for the help, sir.” Cara said finally, pulling on the helmet and face mask. She didn’t have their usual goggles, but hoped it was all the same to them.   
She left the pumping station but not before feeling like she had eyes on her back, the man was following her for a moment before she turned to make her way towards the palace, feeling her body crash into hard metal and falling to the ground, her mask falling back to the ground.  
  
“Watch where you’re going.” A sharp voice told her. Looking up she saw a man in a yellow and blue jumpsuit, sneering at her almost. His golden-brown eyes bore into her for a moment before turning on his foot and continuing through his patrol. “Rookies.”  
Cara did not like the look he gave her, pulling back on her mask. It was her first solo mission and she was already making mistakes. She sighed, wondering why he didn’t help her up, but she supposed that was a superiority thing. This mission was not going to go as well as she thought, as she went to take a step forward, she ran into metal once more her body went to drop to the ground; a hand had gripped her arm.   
“Watch it.” This voice was softer, but rough at the same time. Cara’s green eyes met deep blue ones before getting the full picture. Pale skin with deep brown hair in thick dreadlocks, a small smile marked his angular face. He steadied her onto her feet before giving her a light nod and being on his way for his patrol.   
Cara seemed to be frozen in a trance, but she didn’t know why. He was being kind and judging by his armor he appeared to be someone of high rank, much like the man in the yellow and blue jumpsuit. She shook her head, focusing on her mission. She had to get to the palace, to do what? She honestly had no clue. Was she supposed to talk to Praxis? That didn’t sound like the right idea.  
These thoughts caused her to pause in place, trying to think of what her best move would be.   
_I could try to find the barracks for the Krimzon Guard, see if anyone is there? No… That won’t do.  
_That was when it hit her, she should follow the guy she ran into!   
_Of course! I need to catch up with him, hope he didn’t go too far._  
That was when she turned on her heel and ran in the direction he went, or at least where she saw him go a few moments ago.  
_My first mission and I’m already messing it up!_  
She could see him in the distance; his red armor sticking out against his brown hair, she ran closer and closer before she made pace with him.  
“H-Hey there, Captain!” She said, trying not to sound as winded as she felt.  
The man paused for a moment, looking at her as if she just grew a head, turning back to where they had ran into each other, then back to her before smirking.  
“Hello there.” He sounded friendly.   
_Gosh I hope he’s friendly.  
_She gave him a shy yet awkward smile, realizing that they were just staring at one another again.   
_Oh shit, I’m staring again!_ “I-I was ah… W-wondering if you would ah maybe… Like some company on your patrol this evening?” She thought quick on her feet, but her brain always seemed to lag.   
The man looked her over once more, then smirked again; “Sure, follow me.”   
Cara sighed in relief, lightly jogging to catch up with him.

Their walk was quiet, the citizens never caused too much trouble and things were calm. The silence between them was deafening, awkward. She picked at her fingernails as they continued to the industrial section of the city. This is where the most trouble would occur but not at this time of night.   
“I’m guessing you’re new here.” The Captain spoke, looking out at the water as they walked by the Hip Hog Heaven Saloon, pausing for a moment to make sure nothing was going wrong at the loud and bustling bar.  
“I-I am.” Cara shoved her hand out for him to shake. “I-I’m Cara, sir. My apologies for bumping into you earlier.”  
He looked at her hand and chuckled as he grabbed it and shook it firmly. It was warm, her gripping his had firmly to shake along with him.   
“I’m Torn, Captain of the Guard. You already seemed to know that, though.”   
“Oh! I just… Guessed honestly.” Cara let go of his hand to place hers on the back of her head, scratching lightly as she looked away.   
“Well it’s always good to have more people.” He said, continuing their walk around the industrial section. “We’ve lost two guys this week, one just up and vanished. His family didn’t even know he was a missing person, they just assumed that he was doing overtime.”  
“Oh… That’s awful.” Cara continued to pick at her fingers as she followed Torn around. He had begun to open up to her little by little by talking about the other members of the guard.   
“Tom has a new kid at home, I’ve let him have time off but Erol…” He stopped, for a moment as if to think his words. “Erol wants to act like he’s the boss around here and wants recruits like you to be under his boot.”  
“Oh… He must be the guy I bumped into earlier. He wouldn’t help me up afterwards and gave me a dirty look.” Cara recalled how his golden eyes bore into her, realizing that the smirk was more menacing than kind.  
“Oh yeah, sounds like him.” Torn chuckled lightly. “You bump into everyone you meet?”  
“Not on purpose!”  
He laughed harder then; “Okay, kid. Sure.”   
“Who are you calling a kid?” Cara sounded more offended than she was, trying not to crack up herself at the face he was giving her. It feigned apologetic; she could tell. “I’ll have you know I’m 25 years old, sir!”  
_I’ve got the back problems and the boobs to prove it!  
_“Oh yeah?” He raised his brows, or he would have if he had them. The skin moved to express the disbelief he was trying to convey.   
Cara pouted almost, realizing she didn’t have anything to prove it. “Yeah!”   
“Okay, kiddo.” He chuckled again as he ruffled her hair slightly. “Come on, we should get back to the palace.”   
“What about your patrol?”   
“It’s quiet tonight, I’m sure anything that happens at the Hip Hog can be handled by someone else if it gets called in.”  
It seemed that as if right on cue, a bar fight broke out. A man was thrown through the front door, though thankfully it was already open. The man that threw him out the door had come out staggering and ready for round two it would seem.  
“Excuse me boys, you think we could settle this civilly?” Torn was so calm, not ready to crack some skulls.

“Ey, Fuck you, buddy! This asshole is trying to hustle me n’ my boys.”   
Looking into the bar there was a fight still occurring in the boxing ring, Cara seeing the blood spurting from the men. That was when Cara’s attention shifted to the guy on the ground. He was out cold.  
“You know you’ve already won, right?” Cara decided to interject, stepping to Torn’s side and crossing her arms.  
That was when the staggering man looked at his target, then back at the two officers.

“It would seem that way, yeah.”   
“So, then you can go back inside and enjoy your drinks, sir.”   
“Right, I should.”   
_Well, that was easy enough.  
_“Captain should we call a doctor for this man?” Cara asked, trying to check his pulse.

That was when he shot straight up as if he was playing unconscious, realizing it was the same man from earlier that had given her the uniform she was now wearing.

“Sweetheart, at least buy me a drink first!”

The smell that came from his mouth was a mixture of smoke and alcohol, the smell overpowering her nostrils as he wrapped his arms around her as if they were old friends. When they had really only met today.

“Come on, Jinx. Get off of her.”

Torn was trying to hold back a chuckle as Jinx wrapped his arms around her tighter.

“Getting jealous, Torn? I _knew_ you had a thing for redheads, since you like that Praxis girl so much.”

The next moment Jinx was wheezing, Cara had shoved her elbow into his chest as hard as she could. Then in one quick motion she threw him over her shoulder and flipped him onto the pavement below her. She never did like it when men got grabby like that, even as a joke.

Torn winced when Jinx's back it the pavement, but couldn’t hold back a laugh.

“Ah you like em feisty, huh Torn?” Jinx was laughing too, despite the light wheezing.

“We only met an hour ago, just happened to be showing her my patrol when you decided to be stupid for the fourth night in a row.” Torn spoke matter-of-factly, trying to keep a serious face but he seemed like he couldn’t contain himself.

 _Is this what it’s like to have friends?_ Cara wondered as she watched them.

Cara was never good at being a team player, never having a friend by her side like this to tease her. After she lost her parents, she only had Samos and the small group of adults that made the Underground.

“We should be getting back now; newbie here still has some learning to do.” Torn began to walk back towards the palace, Cara following him like a lost puppy.

It seemed like a much longer walk now, Cara recalling Jinx's comment about redheads and the Praxis girl.

_Does he have a crush in Ashelin Praxis? Baron's daughter?_

She opened her mouth to ask then quickly shut it.

_We just met today; I don’t think he needs me asking about his female preferences._

Torn noticed this, deciding that he should get to know her better. Clearing his throat slightly before he spoke;

“So, Cara where are you from?”

“I used to live in the slums, here.”

Cara did not want to be having this conversation with him on her first day, she had gotten so distracted she didn’t even have time to make up a cover up identity for herself! Some undercover agent she was! Giving her real name and her actual life story!

“Ah, so you’re joining the Krimzon Guard to support your family?”

She didn’t realize that in mentally kicking herself she was also stalling the conversation. She looked up at Tirn confused for a moment.

“Family? No, my family is dead. I was---"

Cara cleared her throat, trying not to blow her cover.

“I’ve been on my own since I was a teen. They died in the Metal Head incident in the slums 6 years ago.”

“Oh, I’m so sorry.”

“You really are a bleeding heart, Captain.”

Cara didn’t want to sound as dark as she did, but it definitely came out more bitter. She looked back at Torn who had his brow raised in concern, maybe pity? She wondered if she should have just lied, but she did have a really bad poker face. Even Onin could see when she was lying, and she’s blind!

“The attacks on the city from the Metal Heads are a tragedy.”

He paused stopping in his tracks to take a good look at her. She seemed to be happy enough without a family, was she here because she was a troubled woman? Was she trying to give herself one final duty? Cara couldn’t tell why he was staring at her like this, her cheeks getting red realizing she was watching him so intently. The way he tilted his head slightly as he pondered, his arms crossing and one hand by his face. The side of his index finger grazing his lips as he watched her until he realized her face.

“Something wrong, kiddo?”

Cara snapped herself out of her trance of staring at him, feeling the redness of her face match her hair almost. She let out a nervous chuckle as she looked off in the distance.

“Yeah, just not used to being stared at is all. I've never been that kind of girl that turns heads, you know?”

Torn felt his cheeks turn pink as well, he hadn’t realized he had been inspecting her so diligently that it would come off as him “checking her out".

“I-I'm sorry. I was just—inspecting you?”

He didn’t sound convinced either, his questioning tone made her relax slightly.

_He's like me, getting caught up in the details... Cute. Wait don’t call him cute, he’s the captain! You only met him today!_

“It's fine, Captain.”

She was smiling then, trying to ease him of his awkwardness, but it seemed to just make his face pinker.

“Ah. Young love.”

It was that sharp voice from earlier. Cara turned to see Erol, his eyes piercing hers with a glare, then looking at Torn.

“Playing with the new recruit, alone?”

He raised a brow, a condescending smirk on his features.

“She was accompanying me along my route, I’m sure there’s nothing wrong with that. Right, Commander?” Torn took a few steps forward his chin high like he was trying to be domineering to the orange haired man, but it didn’t seem to do much difference.

“Oh please, Torn. You can act like you’re superior to me but only in title. I will always be his right-hand man.”

Erol was almost nose to nose with Torn, ready for a good fight but just scoffed. He gave Cara one last look down before chuckling and walking into the palace. Torn didn’t seem to be hurt by Erol's comment, she supposed that he was used to being berated by him. He turned to Cara and smirked;

“He may be right hand to the Baron, but the well-being of the people is what I really want.”

“Oh?”

Cara was caught by surprise with his honesty. He didn’t have to be so honest with her, he could tell her anything to make himself feel better, but maybe that did. There was a warmth in that smirk of his, and as much as it seemed taunting before, she wouldn’t mind seeing it more often.

“Come on, let’s get inside. In the barracks there's a changing room and rooms for people like yourself with nowhere to go.”


	2. Bugs, Patrols and the Brand

After a long hot shower Cara had seemed to finally relax into her new surroundings. She missed the green light that Samos would give off at night, as if he was green eco himself. It was always calming to see and helped her sleep. 

Her new living situation despite being better than nothing, was bleak, dreary even. It definitely lacked color and Cara realized that it was no wonder why some recruits were not happy with their line of work. The benefits were terrible! Beggars couldn’t be choosers and she had a mission to accomplish. She took a small book that had a large fingerprint lock on the front and opened it with her finger. With it she began logging her first day there;  
_I ran into both the Commander and the Captain within my first few minutes and I hadn’t even made it to the Palace yet! Commander Erol seems like he’s out for himself, wanting more power and to be some kind of hero, even if his attitude stinks. Captain Torn was friendly, maybe a little too friendly to someone he just met. We patrolled the Industrial section around the Hip Hog Heaven Saloon. There we met Jinx, who was getting his ass handed to him to say the least. He got all grabby…_

She trailed off, remembering the smell of alcohol and cigar smoke and shuttering.  
_Anyways, Torn directed me to the barracks and I hope he can tell me what the Baron is planning to do about these Metal Head attacks on the city. Maybe I can ask him for a few sparring pointers… If he’s not too busy with his captain duties._ _  
_ Cara closed her journal, placing it under the squishy mattress of her room lying down. when she closed her eyes, she could see the events of the day playing out like a movie almost, taking in the way Torn looked at her and feeling a smile come to her lips before shaking her head  
_The mission! We’re on the brink of war you can’t be hung up on some guy who was nice to you today! For all you know he could be a total jerk after today! Be sensible._ _  
_ Cara tossed and turned, unable to stop her brain from asking more and more questions.   
_What do I do if I can’t talk to Torn alone? Do I ask Erol? Hell no, he would never give me the time of day._ _  
Then who would I talk to? Would I fail my mission? Should I try to make a bug for Baron’s conference room?  
_There were too many possibilities keeping her awake. She pulled her pants on and a loose tank top, she had to meet Vin at the power station, he’d know what to do for a simple bug. She made it out to the street easy enough, not being detected by any other Krimzon Guard member. Now to make her way to the power station, hoping that Vin would be still up, he was one of their best informants after all, no sleeping on the job.   
When she made it to the door of the power station it opened automatically, which meant he was here, but she didn’t see him anywhere.   
“Vin? Are you in here?” She looked around but didn’t see anywhere he could have gone. 

That was when she noticed a familiar pair of legs underneath one of the power tables, one of the doors open so that he could do some work, but there was a light snore coming from underneath.  
“Vin?”   
“Ah! Owh!”  
He had jolted up at her calling him, slamming his head into the roof of the opening, messing up a few wires that he nervously but quickly fixed.   
“Cara! What are you doing here? I thought you were supposed to be undercover at the palace!”  
“Shh! I know, but I couldn’t sleep. Too much can go wrong here, and I want our mission to succeed.”  
“It can’t be going anywhere if you just started today and you’re here in the middle of the night.” Vin may have been a jumpy guy, but he sure could smack you with some back sass.  
“I know. I know! But I need you to help me make a bug for the conference room.”  
“A bug? Where on earth are you going to put it where you can still hear the communications and where they won’t find it?”  
Cara didn’t think that far, she hadn’t even seen the conference room yet so she couldn’t have a solid plan for that.   
“Under a table or chair somewhere?”  
“You’ll get a lot of interference if they are banging or twisting in their chair.” Vin said, already going to work with some metal scraps.  
“Hm… You’re right.”  
“You haven’t thought this through, have you?”  
“I haven’t even been to the conference room.”  
“Then what have you been doing all day?!” Vin had almost thrown their new device when he looked at her seeing her fiddle with her long orange hair as she bit her lip.  
“Getting to know the Captain…?”   
“The captain—Cara you don’t have time to be hanging around the captain, what if he figures it out that you’re working for the Underground?”  
“He won’t find out!”  
“If he’s worth being a captain then he’ll figure it out quicker than you think! You need to stay away from the higher ups or they’re going to expose you and god knows what will happen to you then.”  
Cara went to retort, but he was right. Worst case scenario she would be caught and possibly executed.   
_But would Torn really do that if he knew what the Baron was really doing?_ _  
_ “I think he could help in more ways than one.” Cara said after a long pause, seeing that Vin was almost done with the bug.  
“What do you mean? Don’t you know that most of those Krimzon Guard types just want glory, right? They don’t care who they have to step on to get int he Baron’s favor.” Vin chuckled. “You must’ve bumped into him really hard if you think he’s that nice.”  
Cara felt her cheeks turn pink as she stared at Vin, then shook her head.  
“To be fair, today didn’t go as planned. I also bumped into Commander Erol.”  
“You WHAT?”  
“Yeah…” Cara scratched the back of her head; she knew Samos was definitely thinking too highly of her. “I’m already screwing this up.”  
“I would say so! Bumping into two high ranking officers and getting close with one is risky!”

Vin handed her the bug she came there for, crossing his arms as he leaned against one of the computers.   
“You’re very lucky you haven’t been caught, you need to be more cautious!”  
“I know, Vin. I know, but my gut is telling me I can trust Torn.”  
“Are you sure it’s your gut?”  
“Yes! No… Look I know what I’m doing!”  
_I have no idea what I’m going to do._  
Vin could see it on her face, trying to stifle his laughter and put faith in her as Samos has. “Look if anything you have one plan, which is to plant a bug so that I can relay information to Samos.”  
“Right. My other plan was to ask Torn if he knew anything, during some training.”  
“That could work, but it could also make you very suspicious. I would think it to be, anyways.”  
“Well not everyone has a suspicious person’s radar like you do. A random person could walk by your door and you’d think they’re a metal head coming to kill you.”  
Vin raised his finger to defend himself, but looked as if he thought about that statement for a minute.  
“You got me there. But! There is nothing wrong with being too careful.”  
“That’s why I have the bug, it’ll give us insight on what’s really going on versus what the guards think what’s going on.” 

Cara gave Vin a hug goodbye, realizing that the sun had come up much too soon, she had to race back to the palace to stash the bug in her room before anyone saw her. It seemed however, she would also have a rocky start to the day and run into Torn who was having his morning sludge that they called coffee.  
“Ah. Good morning, Cara. You’re up early.” He smiled at her watching the run rise over the buildings.   
“Ah! G-Good morning Captain! I was uh wondering if maybe we could… if you would like…”  
“Yes?” He raised a brow, wondering why she was so nervous. It must be a simple question.  
“If you maybe had time to train me on how to properly fight? Maybe give me some pointers now that I am a part of the guard?”  
Torn paused, looking her over for a minute before raising a brow again.   
“You seemed fine fending off Jinx yesterday.”   
“I just need some extra pointers with the uh… uhm… the…” Cara couldn’t think of the word, struggling with her mind. “The taser! The taser.”   
Torn looked suspicious, but something on his face changed as he chuckled and decided to give in.  
“Fine, meet me after breakfast in the training room.” 

_I have no idea where that is._ _  
_ Torn looked back to Cara from his coffee, seeing that she hadn’t moved yet.  
“Right, you probably don’t know where that is…It’s down the hallway where the bedrooms are to the left, it’s the only room with full glass windows.”  
“Oh, okay.” Cara nodded as she left to make her way to grab some breakfast, but first she needed to hide that bug.   
Cara had returned to her bedroom, looking around to where she might hide it until the time was right. She moved about, realizing how empty her room was.  
_The only place I can put it is under my bed, but not where my journal is… Maybe…_ _  
_ She was stretched out on her stomach, laying on the floor and reaching under the middle of the metal frame of the bed. The bug stuck there with little pressing; Vin must’ve installed a magnetic ability in it.   
Just as Cara got up and finished dusting herself off there came a soft knock at her door before the door automatically opened to reveal Torn.  
“You finished that coffee fast.” She noted, wondering how he could handle the bitter, scalding hot beverage like it was water.   
“I didn’t want to waste any time, the faster we get you prepared for going on your own patrols the sooner you’ll be out of my hair.” He smirked, seeing her face shift from happy to the face someone makes when you kick their crocadog.

Cara would soon realize in following him that she had made one of many mistakes she would make on this adventure, forgetting support for the meat boulders that were strapped to her chest. She focused on her training, being introduced to their form of tasers which came as a staff that they could point at a person and tazze them easily.   
“Oh, I see, I feel silly now not knowing that.”   
Torn shook his head;   
“That just means you’ve not had trouble with the law enough for any of us to use it on you. Which says a lot more about you compared to the other recruits that we’ve let in here.”  
“You mean you have a lot of criminals enforcing the law right now?”  
“No, of course not. Those guys are a part of a squad for when things get too out of control.”  
“You mean like… When the Metal Heads get in?”   
There was a long pause, Cara assumed it was because he probably couldn’t relay such information to a newbie; but looking at his face told her that he wanted to say she was right.   
“You could say that, yeah.” He paused again trying to determine if this was first day information that she needed to know.  
“They’re in yellow uniforms instead of red, they’re called in when there’s no hope for the regular guard to handle it. Like in the Metal Head attacks.”  
He eyed her suspiciously, but she didn’t know if it was due to her mentioning it yesterday with her parents or if she just looked strange waiting for more information.  
Cara stretched her arms and back, then her legs;   
“You think you could test my hand to hand combat?”  
Torn looked away, as if he had a time clock in his head that told him his schedule or what time it was and when he needed to be somewhere. She stood nervously, waiting for an answer and picking at her fingernails.  
“I suppose I have some time for that too.” His blue eyes shined as he looked back to her. “What kind of captain would I be if I didn’t fully train you?”   
Cara could feel the sweat dripping from every part of her body, it was like her skin was crying for her to stop. They had been sparring for what felt like hours, Cara scrambling around like a mouse running from a cat.   
“You got to be quicker than that.” Torn would taunt.  
When Cara would look at him, he looked like he was barely breaking a sweat, but he had a smile on his face like he was having a good time. Cara couldn’t help but stop to catch her breath, leaning on her knees as she panted;  
“I am really out of shape.”   
She thought she was toned and good enough to do any mission that they could throw at her, Torn has proven her wrong.  
“You’re fine for a normal officer. You’d just be no match for a Metal Head if they came at you.” He chuckled once more, relaxing slightly and sitting on the floor. 

Torn was right, she probably wouldn’t stand much of a chance against one Metal Head, let alone an army.   
“Could we do this every day? So, I can get better?”  
“No, not every day. I’d never get any of my shit done.” Torn replied flatly, seeming to remember that he had so many things that he should have been doing, but was spending this time with her. It almost made her feel special. Almost.  
  


Cara hadn’t realized how unprepared she was if the Metal Heads ever got through the security walls like she was assuming was going to happen. Onin told her that this was her adventure she was to embark on, because it will give her the growth, she needs to become the woman she wants to be. She thought about what she said quite often, thinking it would keep her focused on her patrols, but it only made her more distracted and distressed.  
What if she failed? What if Metal Heads broke into the city? Would she be able to protect the people?  
She finished her patrol and made her way back to the shower and then her room.   
Uncertainty filled her mind as she fell into a deep sleep, having what felt like a vision of what was to come.  
Metal heads had broken into the city past the security wall, killing anyone that got in their way. Cara was rushing to that section of the city, desperately wanting to help the people that were caught up in this. Mothers clutched their children, holding onto them for dear life when a metal head approached them. She could hear the screams as they were all ripped apart and mutilated. There was so much blood, Cara couldn’t see clearly. Her vision was blurred as a metal head leapt onto her and knocked her over. She held her taser up as to try to push him off of her, but she was too weak. It wasn’t doing anything.  
The Metal head clawed at her skin and nipped at her face. She could feel the hot breath against her as she struggled beneath it, open wounds seeping blood as she felt her body getting weaker.  
_I have to fight! If I don’t these people will—_ _  
_ The carnage around her was enough for her to see that she failed. Any person that was there was now dead, and she was going to join them soon.  
  


Cara jolted up in her bed, covered in sweat as if she had actually been struggling with a monster. She found herself all alone in her room, in the middle of the night. A cold chill moving through her as she got up. After a dream like that she knew she wouldn’t be able to sleep, despite the lack of sleep from the previous day. Cara pulled her hair back into a tight bun before making her way around the barracks, unsure if anyone would be up, she knew she had to train, that she had to practice, or she was going to be dead when this war started.   
She got started on some soft dummies, realizing that she wasn’t as bad as she thought with hand to hand, but she definitely could use some more strength.   
Then she wondered if her body went easy on the captain because she didn’t want to hurt him.  
_We just met; I don’t want to blow my cover though. If he finds out that I’m with the enemy of the baron he’s going to rat me out for sure._

“Having a midnight fight?” A sharp voice echoed through the training room, followed by a snicker.   
“I’ve got to be prepared for anything, sir.”   
Cara had her back facing him, not wanting to feel the burn of his golden-brown eyes boring into her emerald ones.   
“Ah, yes. Of course.” He didn’t sound that convinced but was getting closer to her as she could hear his steps. “Would you like a partner?”  
Cara felt his breath on her neck causing her to jolt and move away from him, turning to face him.  
“I-I’m fine on my own, sir. Thank you.”  
“Oh please, you need the help.”  
Cara felt her brows raise.  
_Has he been watching me this whole time? What a creep!_ _  
_ “Fine.” She said finally, watching him remove his shirt.  
_Is that really necessary?_ _  
_ Erol turned to her and smirked, it was like he was getting off by seeing her so uncomfortable.   
“Unlike that pathetic captain of yours I won’t go easy. I’m also not afraid of hurting you. Pain makes you stronger.”  
Without hesitation he moved to her and punched her in the ribs. The air was knocked right out of her and she crumpled to the floor. The toe of his boot collided with her stomach, her rolling back an inch or so.  
“Get up! You can’t be down yet, we’ve only just started.”  
Cara tried to catch her breath and not throw up as she got up slowly, Erol punching her again in her ribs but on the opposite side. Cara braced herself for that hit, but her legs were shaking from the impact. Erol pushed her over then, her head cracking against the floor making her vision burry as he began to step on her chest. Gasping for air she clawed at his boots and pants.  
“Just as I thought, you’re pathetic and weak.” He chuckled darkly as he removed his heavy shoe.   
“You fell so easily it’s a wonder what our captain even taught you.”  
Cara was unable to speak, trying to sit up even her breathing, he kicked her again while she was down.   
“He probably was just wishing he could get back to work so he could stare at Baron’s daughter. Disgusting.”  
He looked back to her then, looking over his work and looking proud of himself.   
“It’s late, recruit. Get cleaned up and lights out.”   
He took his shirt and left her there, wheezing. She knew that at least one rib had to be cracked, but she definitely had some bruises. After what felt like three years of trying to stand up, she finally did it! She was still blurred in vision and was staggering but she could walk to her room and sleep this off.   
She made her way through the hall slowly, finding her room and falling onto the bed before passing out. Her body felt heavy in the bed, like there was someone else, but there wasn’t. She was alone that morning.  
  


The days seemed to drag on as she went on patrols of various parts of the city, her body sore as she walked down the busy streets of the bazaar, passing a familiar tent.  
Onin stayed in that tent, telling fortunes of the people who gave her or well, her assistant Pecker a single precursor orb. They were so rare not many people had them, but Pecker would also make an exception for anyone who brought him food. Cara smiled, but it faded when she saw Erol glaring at her.   
Did she forget she was on a joint patrol? Yes. Did she wish Erol would drop into a ditch? Also, yes.  
“What?” She snipped, her legs tired and trying to buckle beneath her.   
Erol had been finding her late at night and taking it upon himself to make her “stronger” but it was only making her weak and tired. She could actually put up a fight, but it felt like he was waiting for her to lose her head and fight him like she was a wild animal.  
“Don’t dawdle, we have a schedule to keep.”  
“Well if you didn’t spend fifteen minutes at the racing stadium flirting with the mechanics that are way, _way_ out of your league we wouldn’t be running behind.”  
Erol glared at her once more, his scowl intense as he watched her cross her arms.  
“I’ll pretend I didn’t hear that.” He said finally, turning on his heel to continue their patrol.   
Cara rolled her eyes, wishing that he would again, just fall in a ditch where he broke all of his limbs. Mouthing “I’ll pretend I didn’t hear that.” with an ugly face and crossing her eyes.  
Erol turned back around, feeling her mocking nature, but his eyes shown him her normal face. He noticed something then, realizing that she wasn’t bar coded like the rest of them.  
“You’re missing something.” He said, towering over her suddenly, His golden-brown eyes scanning her features.  
“You don’t have the tattoos. Interesting.”  
Cara gulped, realizing that someone was bound to figure it out. Did it have to be the hard ass of the guard?  
“Uh... yeah... They haven’t had time to fill me in.” She laughed nervously, trying to break eye contact.  
“Uh huh.” He continued to stare at her, noting where the tattoos would fit. “You are aware that it is to pledge your loyalty to our leader, Correct? Mandatory.”  
“Y-Yes sir.”  
“It will be done tonight. Wear something loose and pull all of your hair back or we will cut it off.” He smirked turning on his heel but not before looking her up and down one last time. “Dismissed.”  
“Y-Yes, Sir.”  
_What am I supposed to do now? I can’t just let them brand me like a yakkow! What if I told them that I would faint if I see a needle? Nah. They’d keep going anyways._

Cara had hoped that it wouldn’t have come to this, that she kept a low enough profile for her to get away with it. She should have known better than that, Erol was too anal about everything. He’d berate Torn at any moment he got, because apparently Torn was too flexible. He was too soft.   
Remembering Erol made her twist in her bed. She needed to talk to Samos, she needed to tell anyone what was going on. But how? If she left, she didn’t want to be followed. She would fail her mission if they knew she was a part of the resistance.   
_The bug!_ _  
_ Cara practically fell off of her bed scrambling to get the bug from underneath her bed. She had to be careful about this. Checking for a volume button before realizing that Vin would probably just report the news to Samos.  
“Vin? Vin? It’s Cara. I haven’t gotten much information, but… They’re going to give me the tattoos tonight.” She was speaking softly enough to where no one approaching could hear her, but enough for it to be transmitted.   
“I am going to go through with it, because I don’t want to blow my cover and the mission is important. But I need Samos to know. Please. Tell him for me.”  
She put the transmitter back under her bed and turned it off so her bed wouldn’t give false signals. Was she really scared? Or was she afraid that she would be betraying her cause in getting these brands?   
This mission was important, and if getting some tattoos made her more convincing then that would be what she would have to do.

Before she knew it Erol and her supposed tattoo artist came to her room;  
“Ready, sunshine?”   
Cara had her hair in a sock bun, making sure her bangs were pinned firmly to her head. She was also wearing a bralette so they could get to the remaining skin on her shoulders and arms without much fuss.   
She simply nodded and walked with them to her personal hell, seeing the tattoo table made her shiver almost.   
_I really do hate needles. Do they sanitize this? Will my tattoos get infected? This is going to suck._ _  
_ “Get on the table.” Erol commanded, pointing to the table below them.  
Cara reluctantly did as she was told and lay face up on the table. Soon the machine began whirring and they had begun. Cara had to hold back her tears as the needles pierced the delicate skin on her face. She was sure she was messing the tattoo artist up, but he said nothing and remained silent as he worked. There were no breaks, even when Cara would beg for one with her eyes looking to Erol he would simply smile and shake his head. This was their initiation. If you were too sensitive to be unable to sit through something as simple and honorable as pledging your loyalty to your ruler, then you won’t be alive to tell the tale, she supposed.   
By the time they were finished she didn’t know what day it was, she was weak, and her body felt like she was on fire. She could barely walk straight without feeling pain everywhere else, Erol looking pleased as he held her arm. He was guiding her back to her room.  
“You are to stay there until the pain subsides, then you must continue your normal patrols.” He hissed in her ear.  
His grip on her arm was enough to make her openly weep, but she pushed all her feelings back. She knew if she broke down now, he would get the satisfaction of breaking her, and she was no yakkow. 

They finally reached her room and he released her arm, sneering at her almost as she leaned against the door. Erol had nothing else to say and left her there. If she couldn’t get to her bed that was her own doing for being so weak.   
She got her door open and slammed herself onto her bed, her skin screaming as her eyes refused to remain open. Tears falling and burning the new tattoos she had received, almost dry heaving from the overwhelming feeling of dread and failure consumed her.   
_Samos was wrong. I’m not strong enough for this mission. I am a traitor and a failure to my cause. This is all wrong. I feel dirty._ _  
_ These thoughts continued to plague her as she lay awake, eyes closed and dripping tears. 

Her body ached for what felt like forever, leaving her wallowing in her own pride in her bed. It was like she spent a year at the beach and was now burnt to a crisp, her skin felt like it was peeling, but it remained attached.   
After several days without a shower she finally had the strength to go, shuffling her feet down the hall to the showers stopping at the mirror.  
Her pale skin was marked in slate colored tattoos, though they looked very red and very irritated at the time. She was swollen almost all over, when her eyes met her own in the mirror she froze. She couldn’t even recognize herself. She looked like a completely different person, she couldn’t tell if that was good or bad.  
She pulled her hair down from its sock bun, unpinned her short bangs and saw the fiery hair fall. She began to pull her towel off to inspect herself more when she saw a man walk in front of her.   
_Right, these are shared showers. I need to hurry and grab a shower._ _  
_ The man continued on his way, but it was obvious that he was trying so hard not to look at her, he was practically breaking his neck. Cara stepped into the shower then, looking over her body as she turned the water on. It was almost like she got lost in trying to find herself in the new tattoos. She felt lost now, like she lost a piece of herself in these tattoos. She hadn’t realized how long she had been in there until the water went completely cold.   
She turned the water off and pulled her towel around her then her bathrobe. She wanted to examine herself in the mirror once again, but the chattering of men talking about their patrols was so overpowering that it made her rush back to her room.   
_I go back on patrol tomorrow. I need to focus on my mission. I have to find the conference room and place my bug; I can’t rely on Torn. I have to do this on my own._

With her new resolve, she was going to stop feeling sorry for herself and get back into her training. She pulled on some leggings and wrapped her hands, placing a clean bralette on her skin and pulling her damp hair up she made her way to the workout room.   
When she entered, she hadn’t realized that it was practically full, men all around working on their combat and lifting weights. She was intimidated, to say the least, but she had to try to make some friends, or at the least some rivals. She couldn’t be seen as Commander and Captain’s pet.   
“Hey, who wants to fight?”


	3. Price for Success

The men in the room turned and looked at her, unfazed by her appearance. They all knew, they had been there themselves. What they couldn’t possibly understand however, was her situation. Cara was wanting to put her training to good use, despite the pain in her skin. She had to get over it. She wanted to get stronger as a person, so she wasn’t so useless to Samos and the others as she felt right now. She felt like scum, a traitor with these markings on her, but they will not define her. She swore it.

“Come on? No one?” She taunted as they stared at her. None of them budged, until she saw movement behind a group of hulking men.

Captain Torn, unsure to why his men were stopping and staring; came to investigate. His deep blue eyes falling onto hers, seeing the tattoos that marked her body and just how bare she was at the time. It was like he wasn’t used to seeing a woman in that attire, because his eyes instantly looked away.

“I see you finally got through with your “initiation”.”

Torn didn’t sound snarky like Erol had. Cara felt her eyes widen at him, forgetting that they weren’t the same like they should have been.

“Ah. Captain, want to spar?” Cara tried to play it cool, like she could totally take him.

That was when she started looking him over, he was toned for sure, not bulky meat heads like the rest of the men in the room. A lot of them had “Ooo’d” at her wanting to spar with him, which gave her a clue that he was stronger than he looked.

Cara could see a smirk forming on his lips, despite that his face was facing away from her. He could see his cheekbones move upward. Torn had begun to chuckle;

“Alright, Cara.”

There was soon a ring of people around them, ready to see the captain wipe the floor with her.

“Get her captain!”

“Yeah just because she’s a girl doesn’t mean she gets to be a punk!”

Cara began to bounce on her feet, watching for Torn to throw the first hit, but he was waiting patiently for her first move. It was annoying then, because he still wasn’t even able to look at her, his cheeks pink as his eyes were cast to the side.

“Oh, come on, Captain; you’re not even going to look at me while we fight?” Banter was always a good option, it eased things up.

Torn went to look at her, but looked away again;

“Maybe you should put on an actual shirt.”

He was trying to be polite, but Cara didn’t have any more clean shirts.

“Oh what, am I more distracting than Ashelin like this?”

She swore she saw his ear perk as his face switched from amused to annoyed in one click. The men around them had started to snicker like schoolboys until he shot them all a glare.

“You leave her out of this, newbie.”

He was looking at her now, making her smirk at him as she went to throw the first punch. Torn simply taking a step back before grabbing her arm and tossing her to the floor. The cold tiles beneath her back felt good but shocked her at the same time.

“Ah!” An involuntary sound came out of her, it sounded like a moan.

Of course, this was unintentional, but it got the men around her just as hot and flustered.

“She’s one of them sadist types!” She heard one of them jeer, the men around her beginning to laugh.

Cara got back onto her feet, charging at him once more. This time he simply blocked her punches with his forearms, then grabbed her leg when she went to kick his ribs.

"You’re so predictable, newbie. Its adorable.” Torn taunted, smirking down at her as if he got the upper hand. What he wasn’t prepared for was when she slammed her forehead into his. She assumed that he would let go, but his hand on her leg tightened as he fell forward onto her.

They looked very compromised in this position, the leg he was holding bent into her chest, her body resting on it almost. His free hand was on the floor next to her head, when she looked up at him, she felt her cheeks flush. The men in the room were howling but failed to realize that her hit to his head made him lose his balance. He was trying to not fall onto her completely.

“Nice shot.” He commented, his eyes shining as he moved to get off of her and offer her a hand up, but her hand jabbed into his throat. His hand releasing her captured leg as she pressed both of them into his sides and pushed him back. Now he was in the compromised position and she felt a little better, sitting on his abdomen.

“Thanks. I learned it from the commander, unfortunately.”

“You sound like you had such a bad time, do you not like being on top, sweetheart?” He choked out a laugh watching her face turn a deep shade of red.

That hit a nerve, causing her to go to slap him, but the roar of laughter and cheering seemed to ease her anger. Not her embarrassment, however. She couldn’t even think of a retort, making her get off of him and holding out a hand to help him up.

“I don’t want to talk about it.”

The fun mood had died, embarrassment and shame had returned, and she left the training room. What happened in the training with Erol was awful, and she wished it didn’t happen. It was so brutal, precise.

_The metal heads will not be as soft as our dear captain! Jab! Use your body to your advantage!_

_You bumbling idiot, get up!_

_Do you like the taste of my boot?_

Cara shook her head trying not to think of it, not realizing that there was hurried footsteps behind her.

“Cara, wait!”

It was Torn, his voice making her turn around instantly. Her face however twisted from surprised to annoyed almost instantly.

_What could he possibly want?_

Torn stopped in front of her, trying to catch his breath. She did jab his windpipe a few moments ago, maybe he was looking for his voice.

“Can I help you?” She said impatiently tapping her foot and crossing her arms.

“I-I crossed a line.”

“To be fair, I started it.”

They stood in the hall awkwardly for a moment, Torn finally nodding in agreement.

“Yeah…”

The silence came back full force then, Cara watching him from behind her long eyelashes as she picked at her fingernails. It was like her feet were glued to the ground; her legs wouldn’t budge.

“Is there something else, captain?”

“Something else?”

Cara’s eyes snapped to his then;

“Yes, something else you needed besides trying to apologize.”

_Which was poor, to say the least. I’d much rather just be in my room instead of staring at you like we have something going on between us. We don’t._

“If you want to talk… come to the Hip Hog tonight.”

Cara felt her brows furrow;

“Didn’t I just say I don’t want to talk about it?”

She was practically growling at him, making him look taken aback by her sudden anger.

“I’ll buy the drinks. You just be there. Understand?”

Torn turned on his heel and walked back to the training room, she assumed. Cara huffed as she returned to her room, falling on to the bed. Her mind drifted back to getting branded with Erol, remembering his sadistic smile as she tried not to writhe in pain. She wondered if he was getting off on watching her in such a compromised position. He gave off that vibe when they were training, she wouldn’t be surprised if he wanted to dominate people like that.

She shuttered at the thought, rolling onto her side.

_I need to relax. I haven’t even seen Erol since he dropped me off here after my tattoos. Thank god._

Cara rolled over to her other side, her mind drifting to her fight with Torn just a few moments ago. As much as it went sour, she was having fun. It felt like they were old friends, seeing one another for the first time in years. She supposed that it was just Torn’s nature. Friendly.

She pressed a hand to her face, rubbing the skin as if trying to soothe it. Cara realized that she still hadn’t found the conference room, or at least where Baron receives all of his transmissions.

_Why did Samos think I was good for this mission again? This is taking longer than it should have. I’m sure everyone is disappointed in me_.

Cara arrives later that night at the Hip Hog Heaven Saloon, dressed in a black off the shoulder crop top with midrise jeans and a pair of black ankle boots. She was off duty, so she had to look off duty. She noticed Torn in one of the dimly lit booths for two, moving to go sit with him.

When she slid into her seat, he looked surprised to see her, making her look back at him;

“What?”

“You actually came.”

“You told me drinks were on you.”

She noted that Torn was also in his off-duty wear. A sleeveless turtle necked vest that was zipped all the way up, tight pants and boots as well, but she couldn’t see them that well. Cara leaned on her palm, elbow on the table as she waited for one of the waitresses to come back to their table and offer her the special half off drink of the night.

Once Cara had a drink of her own, she relaxed a little more, taking sips of the strong alcoholic beverage as to not find herself in another predicament she didn’t want to be in. There was a silence between them as they awkwardly sipped their drinks until the seemed to be relaxed enough to talk to one another;

“So Erol has been on your ass?”

“More or less, yeah. He thinks you’re too soft to properly train anyone. God complex to the max.”

Torn couldn’t help but chuckle, she must’ve hit the nail on the head with that one.

“Erol has always undermined my authority and takes newbies—like yourself—and practically tortures them with his training methods.”

“I couldn’t tell.”

Cara took a large gulp of her drink, not wanting to remember Erol at the moment. “I wish you had more time to train me, at least you wouldn’t—” She looked up at him, her head feeling like it was going in slow motion.

“Never mind.”

“What did he do to you?” Torn was being too forward, he had to know that. But it’s what he wanted to know. She supposed that even people of authority got too curious for their own good.

_Maybe he wants to know so he could help. Why would he want to help? Does he really care or is he playing to role of good guy to throw me off?_

“It doesn’t matter now. What’s done is done.” Cara must’ve sounded bitter; she could almost see Torn visibly sink in his seat.

“But thank you, for considering my feelings in all of that.”

The rest of the night was spent with them drinking in mostly silent, making comments about the wrestling matches that passed, soon the bar got quiet and it was time to leave. Cara visibly drunk, Torn maybe a little toasty, but standing and walking straight. Torn was holding her close so she wouldn’t somehow run and fall into the nearby water.

“Sorry…” She hiccupped, feeling tears form in her eyes.

She had absolutely no control over her actions at that point, it was like she was being possessed by someone else, but her mind was still awake.

“You’re fine, sweetheart.” She felt him chuckle as he helped her along, his arm over her shoulders.

“I need to ask you something important, captain.”

“You can ask me tomorrow, when you can remember the answer.”

The silence faded in again as they made their way through the streets into the barracks. Cara felt her body being released and she leaned against the wall next to her door. Torn was resting in front of her, boxing her in slightly. She couldn’t tell if he was looking at her to make sure if she was okay, or if he needed to rest after lugging her around half the city. Their faces were too close together, she could feel his breath on her cheek. Maybe the alcohol was finally getting to him too. Cara hadn’t realized how this looked until she looked into his eyes, them mere inches from her own.

Her hands pressed to his chest, pushing him away, but she was technically holding him away from her.

“Captain, you’re…” Cara giggled, feeling his weight on her palms. “You’re drunk…”

“So are you…” He was chuckling right along with her, feeling her hands give out and him press against her again. Her arms wrapping around him in a hug as she moved off the wall;

“Thank you for the drinks, captain.”

The surprise was his arms embracing her as well, causing her face to flush once more.

_What am I doing? I get that I’m a sloppy drunk but dammit! This is my superior here!_

“You can talk to me anytime…” He murmured into her ear before letting her go. “I may be the captain, but that doesn’t mean you guys get to suffer.”

“What do you mean?”

“If the guardsmen are not completely focused on their patrols, they can make mistakes. It could cause their death along with whoever is around them.”

He was serious, she could see it in his eyes.

“Okay, captain. Time to get you off to bed.”

She pushed him in the direction of where she assumed his room was, unaware if he lived here as well. It caused him to ease up and chuckle at her;

“Okay, okay. Getting tired of me already, huh?”

“No, I could never. But we’re both drunk, barely know each other and I don’t need you to make the mistake of doing anything compromising with me.”

“Compromising?”

“Yeah, like Erol is with those mechanic girls at the racing stadium.”

Torn looked back at her surprised as if the Krimzon Guard had no idea that Erol on every patrol would flirt with any woman who was a working mechanic. He then seemed to be embarrassed by his actions, standing up straight.

“Sorry, sweetheart.”

“It’s fine, Torn. You just need to get to bed.”

She gave him one good shove before going to her room, but not before watching him leave. To make sure he doesn’t fall of course. Cara turned into her room, kicking off her boots and falling into her bed. The walk home must have sobered her up, she wondered if Torn would make it back to his room okay, assuming he did as she fell asleep.

There came a loud banging at her door, ringing in her ears and making her head pound with each bang.

“You’re late for your patrol!”

Erol’s sharp voice rang through her room then, him apparently not waiting for her to muster a come in. He wrinkled his nose at her then, apparently smelling how drunk she had gotten the night before. She hadn’t even changed out of her clothes, her hair a mess as she sat up in her bed. Her ears were ringing and the light that Erol had turned on was burning her eyes;

“You must be out of your mind.” Erol growled at her, trying to not inhale the strong smell emanating from her as he gripped her arm tightly and pulled her to the showers.

“Get in there and clean yourself up, I will not have anyone in such poor, disgusting conditions on patrol around the city.”

“What are you talking about? I need a towel and you _need_ to leave!”

“Oh please, as if I have time to think of any woman that way, let alone _you._ ”

“Not the point! I demand my _privacy!_ "

“Welcome to the Krimzon Guard, dear. You don’t get privacy.”

That was when he gripped her shirt, moving to pull it off of her, but with her resistance it ripped off instead.

“Ah! No!”

Cara instantly covering herself with her arms and turning around. He looked at the fabric in his hands, seeing how thin and damaged it already was before he tore at it.

“Do you not have any suitable clothes for yourself? This looks like it’s older than Mar himself.”

“Does it matter what kind of clothes I have for when I’m off duty?! This is harassment!”

“Not yet it isn’t.”

Erol tossed the fabric aside and reached for the rim of her pants his gloved fingers in them before Cara moved to elbow him. Then she heard a sharp crack and a loud yell of pain that came from Erol made her jolt out of her skin as she ran into one of the shower stalls, hiding behind the curtain to see what damage she had done.

Erol’s gloves were covered in blood as well as the bottom half of his face, she could hear footsteps from the hallway coming to investigate.

“What the _hell_ is going on in here?”

Torn’s raspy voice broke through Erol’s groaning and whimpering. Erol wiping the blood from his nose, it smearing to one side of his face;

“That little whore!”

Torn had seen the shirt on the floor, something clicking in his head as he stood in front of Erol.

“Out of my way, fool! She will pay for her insolence, for attacking a high-ranking officer!”

Torn didn’t budge, Cara couldn’t see through his back, but she assumed Erol was starting to get angrier as he shoved at him.

“Get out of here. Now.”

“Or what, Captain?” Erol was snarky, despite having a bloody and more than likely a broken nose.

“I’ll have the Baron know you’ve been harassing not only Cara here, but harassing those female mechanics during your patrols.”

“You have no proof.” Erol snipped, feeling as if he won until Torn retrieved the fabric from the floor.

“Oh, this seems to be enough proof that I need, it’s been ripped off. Seems like excessive force for trying to get someone up for their patrol.”

Torn looked triumphant but seemed to be in a good mood for a man who should have a hangover. Erol grunted a few times, before apparently getting the balls he needed to get into Torn’s face.

“She is late for her patrol, and she is clearly not fit for her patrols today as she is hung over.”

He was speaking through gritted teeth then, if his hair was actual flames they would be blazing.

“So, you took it upon yourself to rip her clothes off of her while she was trying to get a shower?” Torn had hints of sass in his voice, watching Erol reach his boiling point.

Erol was fuming as he tried to explain his actions;

“I did nothing of the sort. She could barely move on her own when I retrieved her this morning.”

“Her cowering in the shower and your nose say different, Erol.”

“I’ll bring this to the Baron, and she will be punished for her insolence.” Erol threatened, not waiting for Torn’s response.

Torn shook his head, turning on his heel to meet Cara’s floating head from behind the shower curtain. He stopped a few paces from her;

“You need a towel?”

“Yes, thank you.”

“Are you okay? He didn’t hurt you?”

“Aww, are you starting to care about me? I thought we were getting closer!”

“Cara.”

“No, I’m okay. He just ruined my shirt.”

“Good. Get cleaned up, then meet me at the training room. Erol meant what he said of getting the Baron to punish you. You did hit your commanding officer.”

“Why the training room?”

“So, I can walk you to the throne room, Baron is in there all of the time.”

Her ears perked up;

“Even when he gets transmissions from us?”

“Yes… Why?”

“Oh… no reason. Thank you for the save. Oh, and the towel.”

“You’re welcome. Now hurry up.”

Cara quickly washed the booze smell off of her and ran back to her room in her towel, feeling herself get excited. Finally, she would get the ball rolling on her mission and maybe she wouldn’t have to be there anymore. She pulled on her armor and crawled under her bead for the bug, shoving it into her pocket and pulling her hair up so she didn’t look too much like a drowned rat in front of their ruler.

She made her way to the training room seeing Torn waiting for her there with a woman with cherry red hair styled in dreadlocks. With the way she was all over him, she could tell that this was the infamous Ashelin Praxis. She looked like a baby in comparison to her, or at least Cara felt that way, looking at herself then back to who she assumed was Ashelin. She was so pretty, curvy, she looked so confident with the way she hung onto Torn, his cheeks red, his eyes on her lips. It was so obvious.

“H-Hey uh, captain?”

Torn and Ashelin’s eyes snapped over to Cara who was picking at her fingernails again. She could feel the sexual tension between the two watching Torn quickly detach himself from Ashelin.

“Oh, Cara! There you are!”

“Y-Yup, here I am… You must be…”

“Ashelin Praxis, Baron Praxis’ daughter. It’s nice to meet you.”

Cara held out her hand and Ashelin shook it, firm but also gentle.

“It’s nice to meet you, Ma’am.”

Cara caught herself staring at the beautiful young woman, wondering just how old she was for her to have the confidence of the average cougar. Though, Cara shouldn’t be so surprised. Ashelin was a woman with power, women with power tended to be more confident even if they fake it until the make it.

_Why do I feel so inferior?_

Cara hadn’t realized she had been shaking Ashelin’s hand for an uncomfortable amount of time, an awkward laugh escaping her lips as she let go;

“I’m sorry, nervous to see your father.”

“Speaking of which, we should get going.” Torn began to walk ahead before turning back to Ashelin; “See you later, princess.” He gave her a light wave before putting his arm to Cara’s back guiding her along the long corridor until they reached the throne room door.

“You ready?” Torn asked, seeing that Cara was picking at her nails again. She had to stash the bug without anyone noticing.

_Is this too ambitious? Should I not do this?_

“As ready as I’ll ever be.” She shoved her hands in her pockets, turning the bug on so that wherever she dropped it, it should stay. Upon entering she saw a few good-sized pillars, trying to inch her way to them, but a boisterous voice came booming at her;

“Ah! There they are!”

“Sorry for the delay, sir. She wasn’t in a position to come right away.”

Baron Praxis was a bulky man, his beard having hints of grey, whether it was from old age or stress, she didn’t know. He was smiling at her for a moment, but it dropped quickly.

“I have heard from Erol that you, a new recruit; assaulted him and broke his nose. Is that true?”

“I wouldn’t say—”

“Captain let her speak for herself.”

“Y-Yes, sir.”

“I didn’t mean for it to escalate that far, no sir. But I do not deny that I used an excessive amount of—uh—force.”

“Explain. Quickly.”

Cara bit her lip trying to not let Torn take the blame for the condition that she was in that morning, getting distracted by the sets of shields and Krimzon Guard armor lining the wall. With her hands still in her pocket she proceeded to walk over to them;

“Cara what are you doing?” Torn was still firmly in place, Baron watching her with an unamused expression.

“Yes, what _are_ you doing?”

“Oh, I’m sorry, I get easily distracted.” She pretended to scratch the back of her head, bug in her hand as she moved to touch the fabric around the shields. The bug attaching and camouflaging itself in the red fabric. “These are such beautiful pieces I couldn’t help myself.”

“Please stop wasting my time and get on with your side of the events.”

“Oh, of course, sir. My apologies.” Cara moved back to her place next to Torn, seeing the sweat on his brow for him not to fib on himself.

“Last night I invited some of the other guardsman to come with me to the Hip Hog Heaven Saloon so I could get to know them better as we were all off duty.”

Cara cleared her throat;

“I had one too many drinks and was hungover, becoming late for my patrol. Commander Erol took it upon himself to force me up out of bed and into the shower without my change of clothes or even a towel.”

Baron Praxis nodded, ushering her to continue as to what happened next;

“He wouldn’t leave me to get undressed and showered, he wouldn’t allow me to get a towel and then ripped my shirt off. I asked him for privacy, and he said that because I am now a KG operative that I no longer get that privilege.”

She paused again, seeing Erol’s face in a twist of anger and embarrassment as she tried to wrap up her story. The Baron was looking like he was becoming late for something, tapping his foot gently as he sat on his throne.

“He then tried to pull my pants and undergarments down… My instinct is to hit someone who is sexually assaulting me.”

“She’s lying!”

“What would I have to gain by lying about this? My shirt is in shreds from your use of excessive force.”

The room was silent again, Erol looking at the Baron for help, for the Baron to not believe her lies.

“You are suspended until further notice, recruit.”

“What? Sir, she did nothing wrong!” Torn couldn’t hold his tongue any longer, Erol giving him a glare that could put him on the death sentence.

“She assaulted a commanding officer, Captain.”

“She was _assaulted_ _by_ a commanding officer, sir. She is allowed to defend herself, isn’t she? What if he did this to your daughter?”

“She is not my daughter and that is irrelevant to this situation at hand! She still injured her commanding officer. Where are these injuries, she received from Commander Erol?”

_Healed up by now. Torn you’re fighting a losing battle. Erol will always be his golden boy. Haven’t you figured that out yet?_

Cara sighed; “Fine. I accept my punishment. I’ll get my things.”

“Cara you know this is bullshit! Why won’t you—”

“Captain, I know a losing battle when I see one. This is not the hill I wish to die on. Understand?”

Torn sighed; “I apologize for my outburst, sir.”

“You are both dismissed.”

With that Cara had completed her mission, embarrassed her captain, and her commanding officer. She hoped that she picked a perfect place for the bug. Now that she was on suspension until she was notified, she could just leave.

Torn was silent as he walked her back to her room, he looked so defeated;

“Sorry that I couldn’t help you.”

“You helped me enough, Captain. Thank you.”

“This suspension is bullshit and you and I both know it. There has to be something we can do.”

“I’m okay with it. I’m not cut out for law enforcement.”

Cara opened the door to her room, looking at the plain walls and knowing that she wasn’t going to miss it. She was going to miss the reasons to fight and the feeling of superiority that she got from patrolling the city. Though most of them were with Erol, so she didn’t get too big of a head over it.

“I think you could be a good officer, it’s just…”

“Erol is going to torment me for as long as I’m here. It’s better that I just quit while I’m ahead.”

“Please think about coming back.”

Torn had grasped her hands then, trying to push his point;

“Aw… going to miss me causing fights? I’ve only been here for a week, tops.”

“I’m going to miss the change in scenery.”

Cara felt her brows furrow, then a small blush form on her cheeks;

“Ashelin is perfect enough scenery, isn’t she?”

Torn’s face flushed as he let go of her hands;

“I-I didn’t mean it like that!”

He cleared his throat, coughing gently as if something had his tongue.

“I meant you… You’re different than the other meat heads here, you know?”

“I would hope so… I’m a lady.”

“Cara, I’m being serious!”

She stopped, seeing that his face was completely serious once more. He took her hand in his;

“I mean it. Your energy is different, like you really care about the people here. No one else has that energy.”

Cara spent a long time looking at his face. He was so sincere, it almost killed her to leave. She was going to miss him; she could feel it.

_But why will I miss him? Did he have that much of an impact on me?_

She looked into his eyes once more, feeling the warmth he was trying to convey. She understood what he was getting at, but despite being a good person, he didn’t really know her.

“You don’t know me as well as you think, captain. To you I’m a good person, but you don’t know what I’m really like.”

“I’d like to know.”

It caught both of them off guard, her realizing that their now sweating hands were still together. She was frozen in place; she knew that this couldn’t really happen. There was a war coming. They didn’t have time for this. She didn’t have time for this. Her heart began to beat into her chest. She can’t be catching these feelings right now. They’ve only known one another for a week! Love doesn’t happen that fast!

“…”

She didn’t know what to say, she wanted to tell him that it couldn’t be possible.

_Do you think that love could bloom, even on a battlefield?_

_Who said that? Why is it so clear like a memory?_

Torn had left her after their long silence with only a few words.

“Just think about it, alright?”

Cara wanted so hard to forget as she packed up her things and headed back to the Underground. She took the longer way home, making sure no one was following her by the time she returned.

“Samos, I’m home!” She called, seeing that he was out.

_Must be out with Onin again._

She recalled many a time where she was alone in the underground, but it never hurt this bad.

_I don’t belong there, even if my tattoos say that I am loyal I’m not. Baron Praxis is planning something. I just know it. I can feel it in my gut._

Cara fell asleep on one of the many bunk beds, snoring softly when Samos had returned. The green sage had smiled at her return, glad to see her out of the grasp of the Krimzon Guard. Looking over the tattoos he could sense there was something different about them, seeing as he couldn’t heal them with what little green eco he possessed within him. He wished that he could remove them, but he supposed that was the price she paid for a successful mission. Samos wanted to wake her with the news Onin brought him but supposed that it could wait until the morning.

 _If she only knew the trials ahead, then she would be unable to sleep_.

Samos chuckled to himself as he turned in for the night, happy to have his daughter figure home.

Cara was plagued with nightmares of Metal Heads attacking, then Erol, they were fighting hand to hand.

_“Pathetic, useless woman. You think you can defeat me?”_

It was like her hits were useless to him, he hardly flinched, and it took so much energy to move them. The Metal Heads were coming and there was something making her anxious.

_I’m running out of time. I’m running out of time. I’m running out of time._

_For what? What is happening so soon? Am I wasting my time? What is happening?_

She could feel her heart pounding, her movements getting more frantic.

The Metal Heads are going to get in the city! I need to hurry! All those people!

Erol had pinned her down at that point, his face mere inches from her. It forming into the face of a Metal Head as he spoke.

_“Game. Over.”_

Cara jolted awake, seeing that Samos was there, but fast asleep. She decided to look outside for what time it was, seeing that it was still dark.

_Must be early morning._

She decided that a cool morning walk would help, pulling on a large cloak with a hood hiding herself in it in case any of the KG officers wanted to start trouble she wasn’t asking for. So she wouldn’t be distracted, partially that she didn’t want to fight Erol in the streets, where the law didn’t apply to her.

The walk was long and calming as she made it over to the industrial section where the Hip Hog Heaven Saloon was, it was the best spot to watch the sun rise over the wall. Or she seemed to think so.

It was so quiet and relaxing, she forgot what it was like to be a free woman… Only now she had the reminder of the price she paid while in the Krimzon Guard. She couldn’t go back, even if Torn wanted her to. She had no reason to go back besides whatever girlish, hormonal feelings she had for Torn.

_This is not how any of this should work! He likes Ashelin, you know Praxis’ daughter? Not me! He was just being nice. He wants to be friends! Allies!_

_But what if he wants more than that?_

_We have only known each other for a week! True love doesn’t work like that! That’s fairytale bullshit!_

_But what if it isn't?_

Cara groaned, getting up from her sidewalk seat and making her way back to the underground. Fed up with her inner irrational thoughts, she knew Samos would set her straight. Or maybe not, he was still stuck in his first set of 30’s. She was sure he was wise enough to tell her that there is no hope.

_Please tell me there’s no hope or that he can’t be converted to our side._

_What if he could be though?_

_He’s literally the Captain of the Guard, I doubt he would see what’s wrong with Baron Praxis._

She wished her brain would stop giving her false hope, when returning to the underground she was greeted by Samos wrapping her into a hug.

“Welcome home, Cara.”


	4. Broken Battleground

Weeks had passed since Cara had returned home, despite the bug in the Baron’s throne room. The signal has been silent. No news of Metal Heads attacking, simple transmissions between the Krimzon Guard and Baron Praxis himself.   
Feeling like a failure once more, she buried herself in missions where she was relocating members of the underground that had been shaken up by the Krimzon Guard. Most of them were easy, then there were the members who had an entire family. It may have taken her the entire day, but she was happy to help her people.   
  
“Thank you, Cara. If there is any way we could repay you—”

  
“Your family being safe is enough for me, thank you.”  
  


Cara hadn’t realized how many times she had said that to any of the members she had to relocate in those few weeks. Them being alive was enough for her, many offering her to stay for dinner. Others offering other trinkets around their home to show their appreciation, but she rejected them.  
She left that section of town, hoping that they would be safe. It was hard in their line of work. Working for the underground, you put your neck on the line. If you had a family, it made it worse as you had an even bigger weakness for Praxis to get ahold of end exploit. She couldn’t imagine what having that kind of stress and responsibility felt like.   
  
_Not that I would want a family at a time like this.  
  
_ Cara wasn’t even sure if she wanted a family at all, wondering if this war would be her first and last.  
  
 _Way to be positive, me.  
  
_ Cara made her way to the Hip Hog Heaven Saloon, deciding to drink her thoughts away for the night. What she wasn’t expecting was company. She spotted Torn at the bar, trying to make her way for a booth without being noticed, the bartender giving her away;  
  
“Cara, darling! I’ll be right with you!”  
  
Cara visibly cringed as she heard her name, feeling Torn’s blue eyes on her. She turned to the bartender and forced a smile, waving lightly.  
  
“Thanks a lot, John.” She murmured, unable to break eye contact with Torn then, he was smiling. Looking like he was happy to see her and giving her a firm pat on her arm;  
  
“There you are! I’ve been looking for you everywhere.”  
  
“Have you now? I must be a hard girl to find.”  
  
Torn chuckled, pulling her into a booth for some more privacy, they were already making a scene in the middle of the bar. Half of the patrons were staring, the rest minding their own business, drinking and watching the mud fight between two pole dancers in what she assumed was the wrestling ring.   
  
“You have been a hard girl to find.” Torn confirmed, resting his chin on his palm. He looked relieved.  
  
 _Don’t look at me like that, Torn. You wouldn’t be so friendly with me if you knew why I was avoiding you.  
  
_ “I get around.”  
  
“Where have you been? What have you been doing that’s been keeping you so busy?”   
  
Torn wasn’t trying to probe, Cara could sense that he was genuinely worried about her whereabouts. She looked away from him then;   
  
“I’ve been staying out of trouble.”   
  
“I could see that, sweet cheeks. I haven’t seen you in weeks.”  
  
She laughed bitterly almost, trying to look like she was happy to see him. She was, but wished it was any time but now. He always had a way to make her smile however, taking her hand in his free one;  
“Are you okay? You look stressed.”  
Cara felt butterflies as he took her hand, his thumb rubbing the top of it gently. She had to mentally push them down.  
  
 _In an alternate universe could we be anything more than this. Whatever this was. Stop. Stop feeling.  
_ She wanted to pull her hand away, but decided to just look away from him, using one hand to cover the blush forming on her face.  
  
 _Stop. This will only end messy.  
_  
“Yeah, I’m fine. Just stressing out. It’s why I’m here.”  
  
“Oh…” He stopped stroking the back of her hand with his thumb for a moment, then perked up once more. “Would you like to have a drink with me?”  
  
Cara bit her lip, she knew she shouldn’t but they were already there. She had to live dangerously every now and then.   
  
“I shouldn’t… But since it’s you… I guess I can make an exception.”  
  
 _What are you doing? You should be telling him no! You know what he’s doing! Only Mar knows why he’s doing it to_ ** _you_** _! He had a crush on young and beautiful Ashelin! What the hell happened to that!?  
  
_ They spent a long time, awkwardly smiling as Torn continued to hold her one hand. She wanted to ask what happened between him and Ashelin to make him so bold with her, but it seemed that he had been drinking before she had arrived. She hadn’t noticed until she took a long hard look at him. He was swaying slightly;  
“Your suspension is over, you can come back now.”   
  
“Back? I can’t go back.”  
  
“What do you mean? You’re apart of the guard, are you not?”  
  
“I don’t want to go back there, Torn.”  
  
“Is it because of Erol? I can protect you from him.”  
  
“Yeah, okay. That worked out _so_ well last time.”  
  
Torn retracted his hand, visibly hurt as their next round of drinks had arrived.  
  
“Sorry. That sounded ungrateful.”  
  
Cara placed both of her hands around her drink, gulping it down.  
  
 _Well, now it’s even more awkward. Way to go.  
  
_ Torn did the same, looking as if someone had kicked his croca-dog. Cara instinctively reaching for his hand and giving him a small smile as she squeezed his hand;  
“It’s not that I don’t think you could. But Erol is out to get me, for whatever reason it is. I can’t ask you to risk your position like that.”  
  
Torn flashed her a smile, squeezing her hand in return;  
“I would do it for any good recruit. You’ve got this energy that resonates with any person you’ve helped on your patrol.”  
  
“How would you know? Half of my patrols were with Erol.”  
  
He chuckled, her not realizing that she had written reports of what she had done in Erol’s absence. Helped an old woman in the bazaar with her groceries, reunited a child with their mother when he got lost chasing something in the wind, assisting the farmers with their crops to help supplies at the bazaar. She did a lot of good under the guise of a KG member, continued to do these good things as a member of the Underground.   
  
“Oh, right. My reports.” She chuckled; “You actually _read_ those?”  
  
“Oh not every single one, but at least half of them.”  
 _  
Was he trying to find something about me? Right, he has been trying to track you down for a hot minute.  
_

Silence fell between them again, their drinks making them more tight lipped than usual, but the light touching seemed to correlate. Just simple stroking of the hands, nothing that brought them any closer. A few shy glances from her, the butterflies seeming to cover her eyes at this point.   
Cara heard the beat of a song playing through the speakers through the Hip Hog, causing her to jump up.

  
“I love this song!”  
  
She grabbed both of his hands then, trying to pull him out of his seat, but it was almost as if his butt was glued in place;  
“Sorry, sweetheart. I don’t dance.”  
  
“Please! I don’t want to be the only one dancing!”  
  
“There’s a crowd of people out there, you wont be alone.”  
  
“I can’t believe how heartless you are, Captain!”  
  
Cara felt a hand on her waist then, the familiar smell of cigars wafting to her nose as he flipped her around;  
“Hey there, sweetheart! You can dance with me since old stiff legs here wont.”  
Cara felt herself cringe once more, but she did want to dance to this song. She just wished that it was someone else besides Jinx.  
  
“I guess…” She gave Torn a last look as he chuckled in his seat.  
  
Soon Cara let the music consume her, mixed with the booze she had consumed she was dancing pretty close to the man that had a smell that could compete with the sewers. She didn’t notice that Torn was having his own mental battle. Jinx seeing that he was visibly annoyed, maybe a little jealous. Torn didn’t understand why, they had common goals, but were they really close like that?  
Torn kept shaking his head, Jinx watching in delight.   
_We had been flirting all night, butterflies have been in my stomach until now.  
_ Cara was coming down from the music high she was getting and returned to her seat across from Torn. He looked a mixture of confused and angry.  
“Are you okay?”  
  
“I’m fine.”  
  
“You look and sound like you’re mad at me.”  
  
“I’m not.”  
  
“You’re the one who didn’t want to dance.”  
  
“I know that.”

  
“Then can you stop looking so pissed off?”  
  
“I’m trying, Cara.”  
  
“I don’t get it. We’ve just been having a good time together…”  
  
She could hear Torn growl, covering his head with his arms as he pressed his forehead to the cool table. Cara reaching her hand out to him to try to soothe him.  
 _I’m glad I’m not the only one confused here.  
_ “Hey… We’re cool, right?” She touched his hand, giving his fingers a gentle squeeze, fully expecting him to pull his hand away. To push her away, but he didn’t.  
  
“I think… I think I’ve had too much to drink…” He lifted his head up, his cheeks fully red.  
  
Cara gave him a small smile, patting his hand gently;   
“Then it’s time to turn in, Captain.”  
  
“Wait.”  
  
Cara paused from getting up from her seat, waiting patiently for what could be on his mind. There was such a long pause, she thought he had fallen asleep holding onto her hand.  
  
“Yes, Captain?”  
  
“…” He was silent still, like he was trying to figure it out for himself. “Sorry… Let’s just go.”  
Torn had moved to get out of the booth, misplacing his foot and falling face first onto the floor. Cara’s reflexes were poor, wincing as she peeled him from the floor.

“Are you alright?”

She was holding him up with relative ease, despite him being mostly muscle. Maybe she had gotten stronger from her time at the guard. 

“Y-yeah… Thanks, Cara.”

His voice was directly in her ear, making her face flush as she made her way out of the Hip Hog, waving goodbye to Jinx. She realized that she had forgotten to pay for her drinks, but knew that they would probably just be added to her tab… She hoped.  
  


Their walk to the barracks was long, Cara trying to make small-talk with him, but he was leaning so far onto her that his voice in her ear sent shivers down her body. She couldn’t handle being this close to anyone, let along a grown man. 

“Cara… I can walk…” Torn complained, his voice sounding more raspy the lower he spoke.  
  
“You fell on your face the last time you said that.”  
  
“Come on, sweetheart. I don’t need you to carry me the whole way there.”  
  
“Afraid I might embarrass you?”  
  
“Of course not.” His voice got short with her then; “Just don’t need the others thinking…the impossible.”  
  
“Oh what, me being able to carry your sorry ass home from the bar? How sexist of them.”  
  
“…No.”  
  
“Then what, Torn. What is so impossible about me making sure your safe?”  
  
“You realize that most of them are schoolboys, right? Schoolboys talk.”  
  
That’s when it clicked. The thing she had been avoiding to think too much about the whole night. The butterflies filling her again as her cheeks flushed.   
  
“I—I wouldn’t… think that was… _impossible…_ ” She mumbled the last bit so that only he could hear. “Just that we… you know… don’t know eachother like _that_ …”  
  
Cara felt her body get hot then.  
 _Who's the one getting embarrassed now?  
_

“Hey…”

“Yes?” 

Cara had stopped walking, looking over at him. He looked like shit, as he should since he was shit-faced. 

“We’re here.”

“Oh!”

She let him go, seeing his body flop from her and heading back to the ground before she caught him. She had been in a squatting position, using her legs to try to get herself back to a standing position with him.

“Captain, I think you’re in need of an escort.”  
  
There was a long pause before she could hear him snickering like he was a schoolboy.

“Oh yeah?”

“Not that kind of _escort!_ ”

_Ass._

Cara dragged him through the barracks, keeping him conscious enough to get directions to his room and throwing him into his bed. 

“Cara… wait…”

Cara was about to leave, but she turned to see what his final request of the night would be. 

“Meet me there again next week?”

Cara couldn’t help but giggle at him; 

“Sure, if you remember to show up.” 

Cara turned his light out, seeing sparkles of stars decorating the room. It must’ve been some kind of night light.

“Now get some rest.”

“Mm…”  
  
 _Now if I only fell asleep that fast.  
  
_

Cara’s week had gone by slow, the missions around the city she had received were simple. Mostly escort missions, escorting people to places making sure Metal Heads couldn’t overwhelm them. By the time she had found time to think about her “date” with the Captain of the Guard.

“Cara!”

Samos had knocked her out of her trance, her eyes snapping to him;

“Yes?”

“We just got a transmission from that bug you planted. The Baron is going to take down the outer security wall and let Metal Heads attack the city. He’s sending his “weak links” to fight them off, but it’s going to be a trap.”

“He’s going to lock them out of the new security wall?”

“My thoughts exactly.”

“When is this happening?”

“I’m not sure… It sounded like he was speaking to the Metal Head leader himself… It could be any day now.”

“What should we do?”

“We have people of our own that need to be relocated further in the city, I need you to find them and bring them here.”

“What about the other civilians that live there? Can we do anything for them?”

Samos shook his head, his eyes closed as he placed a hand on her shoulder; 

“Unfortunately, no. Not without making a ruckus.”

Cara bit her lip, worried about what will happen to those people who wont even see it coming.

“In times of war sacrifices have to be made. Those peoples lives will be on the Baron’s hands.”

Cara nodded, understanding that this has to happen. However, it didn’t mean that she had to like it. 

“Go now, they’re waiting for your arrival.”

Cara did as she was told, she had taken a two-seater zoomer to that part of the city, it similar to the slums that the underground was in and picked up the members, dropping them off close to the entrance to the underground making sure that they weren’t being followed. Retrieving the last few members and dropping them off just in time for her to get ready to meet Torn at the Hip Hog. She got changed quickly, pulling a cloak around her shoulders as she made her way to the Hip Hog, bouncing almost.   
  
_Why are you so excited? We’re about to head into a war.  
  
_ Which was right, once the Metal Heads broke through that security wall there would be so many lives lost. Not to mention the mysterious “weak links” that Samos said the Baron mentioned.   
  
_What if he sends Torn out there…? He wouldn’t do that would he?_  
  
Her mood dropped instantly thinking of that. The Baron would definitely send him and the other members that were deemed too weak to continue in their regime.  
  
 _Erol would take no time throwing Torn under the bus. Erol’s always going to be the right hand of Praxis.  
_  
Cara must have been so into her thoughts she hadn’t realized that there was someone following her.   
  
_Damn it. No. This is not how tonight is supposed to go.  
  
_ She walked faster, the footsteps behind her keeping pace;   
“Stop!”  
  
 _Erol? Shit, speak of the devil.  
  
_ She could recognize his voice anywhere, her heart beating heavy in her chest as she searched to some way to escape his grasp. How long had he been following her? Had he been in the distance watching like a stalker all day? What if he knew that she was helping the Underground? In all of her thinking Erol had snatched the cloak that was around her neck and shoulders, pulling her back slightly until she unclasped it. She turned quickly, finding a single person zoomer and making her getaway.   
  
_I can’t let him know I’m going to meet Torn… Unless… Unless this was a setup!  
  
Why would Torn betray me like this?  
  
He has no loyalty to me… we barely know eachother!  
  
But… He seemed so sincere…  
  
I’m such a fool! I knew I shouldn’t have trusted him.  
_  
Erol fell to the ground from his pulling, but it did not deter him from catching her. He took a vehicle from one of the other KG units in the area, catching up to her with little to no effort as he jumped from the vehicle to tackle her to the ground. They tumbled a few feet, Cara getting a few cuts and bruises from impact with debris on the ground the vehicle she took hitting a wall and exploding on impact. Erol sitting on top of her, a sinister smirk on his lips.  
  
“I knew there was something _different_ about you.”  
  
Cara attempted to struggle from under him, tried to kick at him as her arms were stuck to her sides by his thighs. The effort only made him chuckle;  
  
“You are under arrest for suspicious activities involving alleged underground members.”   
  
She expected him to release her hands, but instead he punched her in the face, knocking her out cold. 

Cara awoke in a cell, her arms bound and her clothes changed into a prisoner uniform. A sickly green color tunic with loose pants of the same color. In red writing across her chest was her prisoner ID she assumed, it looked like it could wash off easily enough. Her face had its own pulse, the pain seething. She wanted to investigate with her fingertips, but the chains her wrists were bound by would barely lift from the floor. They must be held down by a strong force, some kind of pulley system.  
A door opened, flooding the room with light that she could only see through one of her eyes, a shadow stepping in front of it and approaching her. Blinded by the light she couldn’t see who it was until he was barely an inch from her.  
The very familiar brown boots with steel toe spike, with yellow and blue jumpsuit and a snicker to follow the kick he more than likely got out of seeing her in chains.   
  
“Do you know why you’re here?”  
  
 _Oh, formalities. You don’t want to stand there and do this I’m sure.  
  
_ A chuckle had escaped her lips as she looked away from him. A mistake of many she was bound to make in her time here. She was met with a swift kick to her abdomen, the spike of his boot digging into her skin. She choked on air unable to hold herself and unable to get up after a blow like that;  
  
“Answer the question. Fugitive.”  
  
Cara caught her breath for a moment, enjoying the somewhat fresh air that hit her lungs, the nausea subsiding for a moment. Erol took his gloved hand to her chin lifting her face to look at him, a mistake he would regret making as she spit directly into his face. His hand clenching around her neck and forcing her back into the wall. Her knees were cut on the rough concrete flooring as she watched him wipe her spit from his face.   
  
“Think you’re clever, do you?” He knelt down to her level, his brows furrowed and his golden-brown eyes piercing her own as she smirked at him. 

He growled as he began to beat her down, kicking her, punching her, tossing her around like she was a rag doll. Then when she looked beaten enough it was like his mood changed, he had this sadistic look on his face as he touched her body in whatever way he saw fit, slacking her restraints enough to stand her up, her back to his chest his hand around her neck. He was looking off as if there were a mirror to look into and see his dirty work before turning her to face him. He had a knife at the ready, cutting and carving into her body. Her screams of pain and her attempts to shove him off futile.   
  
“You’re weak.”   
  
“You enjoy this torture don’t you?”  
His voice was in her ear as a sensual whisper, Cara having a hard time breathing. His had was around her neck again, pressing her windpipe.   
  
“Tell me you’re working for the Underground. Tell me where the garbage of this city is.”  
  
She didn’t speak, only chuckled and spit in his face, making him more and mor harsh with his beating.   
  
_I will never tell. You’ll get what you deserve… In the end.  
  
_ Erol smashed her head into the wall again, pressing her body into it with his own. He truly was a disgusting man, she could feel him getting turned on from her vulnerable position. He left for a moment, retrieving a taser from the armory to shock her into submission. The more she cried out the harder he laughed, all she could hear was his wicked laugh as she screamed in pain louder and louder. Eventually her body fully gave out, blacking out as Erol continued to shock and attempt to break her.   
  
“You’re no fun at all.” Was the last thing she heard him say before passing out.

When Cara awoke her clothes were disheveled, her restraints loose enough for her to fix herself but unable to recall what had happened to her.   
  
_What time is it? My body feels so weak…  
  
_ There was no indication for how much time had passed, Cara was unable to stand her legs were bruised and cut in places. Her abdomen hurt too much for her to even move, she lay on the floor on her side, trying to look at the damage that was done to her. Her hands were black and blue, her fingernails were broken off, some of them covered in dried blood. She tried to curl into herself more to see the damage his cuts had done to her, seeing her abdomen was covered in dried blood, the cuts he made were deep but they surprisingly didn't make her bleed out, probably do to their size. There were so many and they were just barely deep enough for them to leave scars.  
  
 _I need to get out of here… but how?  
  
_ Just then the door opened again, only it was one of the guardsman with a tray of food. He was unable to look at her more than once as he slid the tray underneath her cell door. Looking at the slop at the plate, she instantly lost her appetite. Her stomach and survival instincts begged her to eat.   
The guard tossed her some plastic cutlery, her restraints creaked when she moved to grab them so she could begin scarfing down her slop. He looked disgusted as she threw her silverware onto the plate and slid the plate through the door. She supposed she could’ve took her time, but she couldn’t remember the last time she ate was. 

The guard disappeared and Cara was alone for what felt like days until Erol came back to repeat himself.  
  
“Do you know why you’re here?”  
  
Cara looked at his, but didn’t answer. Everything hurt too much, and she wouldn’t rat herself or the others out if she could help it.  
  
“Answer the question. It’s not that hard. Just tell me what I want to hear.”  
  
“Bite me.”   
  
Erol chuckled darkly, pulling her back up to her feet. He could hold her up with little assistance from her. Their eyes met as he flashed a smirk at her once more;  
  
“I see, you want to do this the hard way. As you wish, kitten.”  
  
He bit her. Hard. Hard enough that she thought he took a chunk out of her, which wouldn’t surprise her in the slightest. She screamed out in pain, it being cut short by him beginning his systematic beat down of her once again.   
He wanted so badly to break her, but she had no reason to tell him a damn thing. He should have figured as much that the Underground was like a family to her.   
The shocks he had given her body weren’t anything to laugh at, she was sure the other prisoners—if there were any— could hear her screams with every little thing Erol had done to her.   
Cara had nothing to lose in her life. Still on the fence if Torn had betrayed her. Setting up the meeting at the Hip Hog so that he and Erol could arrest her and hopefully have her rat out the underground.   
  
_That doesn’t sound like something that he would do…  
  
What do you know? You barely knew him for a few weeks.   
  
_Erol could tell she was distracted, her eyes distant as he was shocking her;  
  
“Something you want to share with the class?”   
  
He was still getting off on her now bloodied nose and lip, examining his handiwork on her black eye, patiently waiting for an answer.  
  
“… No.”  
  
“You will tell me what I need to know.”  
  
“Such confidence.”   
  
Cara received another slap to her face, Erol growling once more.  
  
“Aw, I thought you liked it when I sassed back.”  
  
She was chuckling then, coughing up blood when he kicked her abdomen. She was continuing to laugh at him, Erol continuing to shock and beat her. His hits harder now that he was pissed off. He wanted to silence her laughing so bad, she could feel the desperation in his hits. She was slowly becoming a bloody pulp, him cutting at her arms and collar bone, wanting her to scream more. She merely winced and groaned, the laughing stopping when his knife was pressed to her throat. Cara was however, still smiling at the bringer of death.  
  
“Erol!”  
  
It was Baron Praxis, standing in the doorway of her cell, unable to look at her.   
  
“What the hell are you doing?”  
  
“I found her moving alleged Underground fugitives to new locations, she’s been doing it for weeks.”  
  
 _So he has been watching me. What a creep.  
  
_ The Baron seemed unconvinced, looking at the state she was in;  
  
“You’re use of excessive force appalls me, Commander.”  
  
“She wont talk, and I intend to make her.”  
  
“It looks to me as you’ve done enough, commander. We have little time before the metal heads attack the city. Or have you forgotten?”  
  
Erol finally turned to look at Baron Praxis, seeming annoyed that he would think that he had forgotten.  
  
“I haven’t.”  
  
"Then if you have no evidence of her crimes release her. We don’t need another mouth to feed. Time is precious and I need you without…distractions.”  
  
Erol glared at Cara, then back to the Baron.   
  
“But sir—”  
  
“Now. Commander.”  
  
Huffing and growling like a child on the verge of a tantrum, he released her from her shackles and lead her out of the prison. He didn’t give her the clothes she was wearing back, leaving her in the cut up prison uniform. The night was cold, she didn’t realize how long she had been in there. How long had it been? A few days at most, she assumed.   
She moved to take a step forward, holding herself together as she felt her hair in his hand and was being pulled into him. His voice was barely a whisper;

  
“I _know_ what you are… And I will be back for you…”

  
He shoved her off of him then, causing her to fall to the ground, cutting her knees back open and cutting the skin on her forearm, just above her elbow.   
  


Cara made her way back to the underground, where she found the people she relocated wide awake and looking concerned as she walked through the door. She collapsed almost instantly upon entering, hearing many people calling out her name.   
When she had woken up she saw that Samos was using green eco to heal her wounds. His hands dusted the green eco lightly over her skin. The deep cuts turned into scars, her bruises slowly fading away as if they were never there, all that remained was the dry blood.  
  
“There. That should do it.”  
  
“Thank you Samos…” Despite not being in pain anymore, she still looked like she had been run over by a yakkow.   
  
“Were you followed here?” Samos looked concerned, still looking her over in case she was bleeding anywhere, handing her a warm cloth to clean the dried blood off of her.  
  
“No… I don’t think so.” She took the cloth from him, wiping gently at first, then getting rougher to remove all of the dried blood.   
  
“Who did that to you?”  
  
“The commander, Erol. He was following me around, I guess since I was ‘suspended’. But he doesn’t know where we are, and didn’t have any proof that I was working for you.”  
  
Samos wrapped her in a hug finally, the worry falling from his shoulders. She knew she was a rookie, but she didn’t think she was this much of a rookie. She was so careful, too.  
  
“Samos, we just got word from the transmitter that the Metal Heads are attacking the city!”  
  
“Then we must go defend our city and try to save any survivors.”  
  
Cara stood up, moving to get her gear, the plate armor from her Krimzon Guard outfit, a turtle neck with no sleeves underneath, armor for her arms along with gauntlets to protect her hands. She was also wearing a tight pair of pants and long boots so he could be comfortable and move out.   
  
“Cara! What are you doing?’ Samos looked surprised. “You were so close to death after what Erol did to you!”  
  
“I have to fight for the city, Samos. I have to keep doing the next right thing, when I’m able, anyways.”  
Samos shook his head;   
  
“Fine. I understand.”  
  


When they made it to that section of the city, they were surprised to see that it wasn’t under attack. It was pleasantly silent, giving them a moment to look at their surroundings before they heard a loud explosion. The ground shaking beneath them as a horde of metal heads approached them. One was big enough to crush the entire city, giant like a dinosaur; it stomped on houses without a care, taking the lives of any family who was still inside.   
Cara was distracted by the giant creature, getting tackled to the ground by one of the smaller ones. Eventually she fought it off of her, shooting the gun she held in her hands and kicking any of them that got too close. She could hear the screaming of the civilians that were getting torn to bits by the metal heads. Cara feeling like hear head was spinning.  
So much was happening so fast, she needed to ground herself but there was so much she wanted. She wanted to save these people from the Metal Heads. That was her top priority and damn it she was going to do it.

Cara ran into action, forcing her way through metal heads, and trying to avoid the people who were running away from them, trying to clear a path for them to run into the further sections of Haven City, Samos trying to usher them into safe places, fighting the metal heads off as well as he could. Cara found a family almost crushed under their house, crying children and screaming babies were heard. Cara tried to lift the metal up enough for them to get out, helping them squeeze their way through as she moved on to the next area, hoping that there was some more survivors. A lot of the people who were alive had already rushed to the safer sections of the city.   
“Cara! We need to hurry Baron Praxis could close the new shield any moment now!” She could hear Samos’ voice over a communicator. That was when she had seen the corpses of Krimzon Guard members, only a few still standing, bloodied. One in particular she saw defending his injured men the best that he could. Captain Torn, of course. Cara  
moved to them, killing a few metal heads on the way;  
  
“Torn!”   
  
He instantly turned in her direction, surprised to see her so far out. The Metal Head he was fighting seeming to realize his weakness and jumping on him.   
  
“Shit!”  
  
“Shit!”  
  
They spoke in unison, Cara moving to get the Metal Head off of him and killing it, but not without a good scratch on her right eye. Her eye bleeding and her vision focusing into one eye almost instantly.   
As if she was unfazed by the pain she should have been feeling her attention went to Torn and his men.  
  
“We don’t have much time. Can you walk?”  
  
She was checking the pulses of his men, they were dead. It looked like they had bled out. Their bodies were still warm.  
Torn still hadn’t moved, but his body was shaking, Cara moving to him in worry;  
  
“Captain!”

  
“This was a setup! I should have known. Damn it!” His hands went from his face to the ground once more.  
  
“Captain we don’t have time to feel sorry for ourselves. We need to go.”  
  
“I can’t believe I trusted the Baron… After everything I’ve seen…”  
  
“Torn!”

  
His name seemed to snap him out of whatever stress induced fit he was in. Cara’s brows furrowed upwards looking at him.   
  
“Cara…”   
  
She felt her heart skip a beat, all of her feelings came back, she forgetting about what happened on her way to the Hip Hog, Forgetting about her being suspicious of him betraying her, his face said it all. It felt like time had slowed down… For a moment, anyways before Samos came on her communicator once more.

  
“Cara! What are you doing out there?! The Metal Heads are almost to the new security wall!”

  
“Who is that?” Torn asked, trying to stand but his legs giving out. The Metal Head had done a number on his legs.   
  
“The Baron plans to lock us all out here if we don’t hurry. Come on.” Cara wrapped his arm around her shoulder, her hand around his waist. He was taller than her, but she knew she could make it in time if she just tried.   
  
“How do you know that? Cara who was that?”  
  
“Torn we don’t have time to worry about that now. We need to get to the wall or we are good as dead.”  
  
Cara blasted through Metal Heads, carrying him and feeling weak, her eye losing a lot of blood was making her woozy but she had to continue on. She had to get Torn to safety, then they could talk. He went to open his mouth once more, thinking it was to call out a metal head attacking from the front, but she got it. When she saw that he was about to speak;

  
“I promise I’ll tell you everything once we get back inside the city.”  
  
That satisfied him for the moment, he blasting a few metal heads with his pistol, they were doing a half-assed gunfight tango until Cara could see Samos in the distance.   
  
“Samos!”  
  
“It’s about time! Hurry!” Samos had began to glow, he was standing where the new security wall would form, Cara seeing it form around them making her run faster.   
  
_We can make it! I just have to get him there! We’re so close!  
_

  
Cara saw her body falling to the ground, there was no sound, only the pounding of her heart in her ears as she threw Torn at Samos as hard as she could. Samos picking him up from the ground to retreat. The wall was now sealed, Cara on the opposite side of it.  
Her vision blurred, seeing Torn screaming and banging on the wall. Samos unable to look as Cara felt her body finally give out. Her eyes shut and she was smiling.   
  
_I did it… I saved… I saved them…  
_  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  



	5. Sand, Sand and Well, More Sand

Cara awoke in a strange place. Sand dusted the tan cobblestone, her body in a pool of water.   
_Am I dead? Is heaven really a sandy wasteland?  
  
_ “I see you’re finally awake.”   
  
Cara jumped in her watery seat, looking over to the older man. His skin was tanned, a crown made of thorns was on his head, he was partially bald with pure white dreadlocks. His face was so familiar to her, but she couldn’t place it.   
  
“It would seem so… I’m Cara.”   
  
“I am Damas, King of Spargus.”   
  
The name jogged her memory faster than she could do simple math;  
“You used to be the ruler of Haven City.”  
  
“Yes, me and my people were cast out left for dead."  
  
“Baron Praxis betrayed you, and sent you away…”   
  
_So he’s been corrupt for longer than we thought… Huh, Samos?  
_  
Damas nodded, looking sad for a moment before returning to his gruff, kingly persona.   
"We found you in the jaws of one of the monsters of our wasteland. You were surprisingly still breathing, so we brought you here.”  
  
Cara sat up out of the water, her legs still inside the pool as she looked at them. They were bandaged nicely, the salt water disinfecting them. She wondered what condition she was in when she had arrived, but then panic set in.  
  
 _I need to get back to Haven City! Torn… Everyone! Are they okay? Did the Underground survive? Did Baron Praxis find us?  
_  
“I need to get back to Haven City…”  
  
“Why would you want to go back to a city that left you to die?”  
  
“They didn’t have a choice, I was injured and thought I was dead… I…”  
  
Damas huffed, giving her a swift pat on the back;  
“You would have been dead if we hadn’t found you. A debt that needs to be repaid.”  
  
“But I have nothing to…”  
  
“As with anyone else we find, you need to prove your worth. In the arena you will be fighting other wastelanders such as yourself to the death.”  
  
Cara looked to him in shock, the only things she killed were Metal Heads. She’s never taken the life of someone else before. She didn’t want to.  
  
“I refuse.”  
  
“If you refuse, you will be cast out to the jaws of the desert where you will never make it back to your home.”  
  
Damas saw promise in her, she could tell in his eyes. She knew that this was a kill or be killed society, but there was so much wrong with that. Cara would be lying to herself if she wasn’t scared. She was absolutely terrified. The look that Damas was giving her made it subside slightly.   
Slowly he lifted her up, her legs not wanting to work, but slowly she was able to take steps. Damas using his staff to help them both walk, they made it to the very hot arena, where she was greeted by hot metal flooring and lava all around her.   
  


A buzzer had gone off, many heavily armored wastelanders coming at her with their swords. She hesitated, dancing around them and trying to shove them into the lava. Them pushing right back, she could feel the heat from the lava below when a man had gotten on top of her, ready to slit her throat. Cara kicked him off of her and began to fire her blaster.   
  
_Kill or be killed. Kill or be killed.  
  
_ She had tears in her eyes as she fought them off, she had to survive. Even if she got back to haven city was was an outlaw for the rest of her life. Her fight wasn’t out in the middle of the wasteland. It was in the city where Metal Heads were about to suck them out of all their eco and demolish them. She had to keep fighting.  
Covered in their blood, she heard another buzzer go off, signaling the end of the trial. Tired, frantic, she moved to a lift platform to where she was greeted by Damas once more.   
  
“Congratulations, Cara.” He gave her a small smile, despite her less than pleased expression. “You have passed the first trial of many that will prove you are a true wastelander and have a place among us.”  
  
Damas had placed a circular beacon on the table along with a gun attatchment.  
“This is your first of three battle amulets, if you complete the next two trials you will recieve the other two with my blessing for you to leave the city.”  
  
“That’s not what you said before!” Cara couldn’t help but whine. “Damas you don’t understand if I don’t—”  
  
“Anyone we retrieve from the desert we take in and give them a chance at second life.”  
  
“I didn’t ask to be rescued!”  
  
“But you have been, therefore you are going to be made of use.”  
  
It was like she was talking to a wall, she threw her hands up, moving from the hot arena to the bright lights of the outside world. The town was small, some areas still in development. She could see a small area of houses still being built, children running after some long looking rats, but they also could hop.   
  
_Strange…  
  
_ There was a wave of calm that rushed over her, it was like she was home… But there was a lot of things missing. She sighed looking up at the sky, it was crystal clear. In the city there was a smog that covered the sky, you couldn’t tell if you’d never seen the sky without it. Cara’s legs trembled, making her kneel on the ground. She could feel something flowing on her shins, like she reopened something. She shifted her weight, seeing the blood soaking the bandages.  
  
 _This is just great. I’m practically useless now! I can only see through one eye, my legs are torn up to shit and I can hardly walk!  
  
_ “Oh miss! Your legs.”   
A pregnant woman had come over with a basket of medical supplies, slowly kneeling in front of her and examining her legs.  
“Oh no it—It’s okay I’m fine…”  
The woman gave her a look, then chuckled;  
“You don’t have to act so tough here, honey. We may be in the wastelands but we take care of our own.”  
  
“If you give me the supplies I can bandage myself… I don’t want you to hurt yourself.” Cara felt guilty as she started to unwrap her legs.   
the guilt suddenly twisted into disgust, her could see her bones through one of the large holes in her leg. They must’ve not been kidding when they said they found her in the jaws of a monster.   
Cara hissed as something on her cloth stung the open flesh.  
  
“Oh please, I do this all the time at my clinic. Well, it’s my home but it might as well be a clinic.”  
  
“You run a clinic out of your home?” Cara saw her thread a needle, wincing and groaning when it went into her skin.  
  
“Sort of. Whoever did these did a shoddy job, that’s for sure. No wonder you could hardly walk. They didn’t even bother to sew up the holes in your legs. ”  
  
Cara had bit her lip as she could feel the woman pull the thread to close the large gap in her leg, tying it off at the end and cutting the thread. She began to re-bandage Cara’s leg, making sure its not too tight before opening the soiled bandages on her opposite leg. She pressed the cloth to the opposite leg then, it also having a large hole close to her ankle and on her shin.

  
“My family is mostly boys and young men. They tend to get into a lot of trouble, I think I’ve literally sewn my husband back together twice by now.”  
  
“Y-you seem very good at that…”   
  
The woman laughed as she sewn the holes on her other leg up, replacing the bandages on her leg. Cara stood up, offering a hand to help the woman up. The woman took it with a smile, using Cara to pull herself up as she held her stomach.  
  
“Thank you for taking the time to help me…”   
  
“Oh it’s no problem dear, follow me. I have a wonderful roast cooking.”  
  
“Oh, no I couldn’t impose…”  
  
“Don’t insult me by not imposing. You look like you need a nice home-cooked meal.” The woman grasped her hand then, leading her to the large cottage like she was a school girl in trouble for getting into too many fights. They had barely made it to the door and Cara could hear the lively bustling inside.   
“But I haven’t even gotten you name, ma’am.”  
“I’m Mia. My husbands name is Darius.” She waved her hand at the girl then as she opened the door.  
There were two young men who looked anywhere between 15 to 18, one middle aged man, and three young boys wrestling about in the living area.   
“Oh my, you have a big family.”  
Cara was shaking slightly, she didn’t know if it was from nerves or if she wasn’t used to being so close to so many people.  
  
 _That’s ridiculous, you’ve been with the Underground since you were eleven years old. There has always been a large crowd of people around you! Relax._

 _  
_“Yes, ma’am. Had two sets of triplet boys!” Mia smiled as Cara looked like she had dropped a bomb on her.  
  
“Oh wow, and now you’re pregnant again…?”  
  
“I’m thinking its a girl this time around. I’ve been calm through this whole thing.” She absentmindedly rubbed her swelled stomach. Cara overwhelmed by the thoughts of her future. If she even had a future… She had to get back to the city.  
  
“I really appreciate you—Ah!”  
  
One of the young boys had began to climb up her legs and to her back, she standing completely still as to not hurt him as he climbed her like she was a tree. The armor she was wearing shifting awkwardly from side to side until he sat on her shoulders. Her hands almost death gripping his legs to make sure he didn’t fall.  
  
  
“Devyn! Get off of our guest! She’s hurt enough without you climbing her like a tree.”  
  
The boy had pulled his feet from her grasp, climbing down but not before giving her a curious look and running off with his brothers. The three eldest were helping with the roast, chopping vegetables, boiling potatoes.  
  
“Ma, sit down before you hurt yourself. You ran right out of here like you seen a ghost.” One boy said, turning to see their house guest. looking shocked. “You sure found one too.”  
  
“Hey!”  
  
“Don’t be rude, Daegon! This young woman was found by King Damas in the jaws of one of those large monsters in the desert! She’s lucky to be alive.”  
  
“Yeah, by the looks of her she looks barely alive.” One of the others joked; “I’m just kidding, darling. You just look a little rough, that’s all.”  
  
“I was just in the middle of a war. You’d look the same I’m sure.”  
  
The house went silent for a moment;   
  
“A war?” Mia asked, slightly in disbelief due to the peacefulness they had here.   
  
“Yes. I’m from Haven City… The Metal Heads are trying to break in and take over.”  
  
“Oh, that’s terrible!”   
  
“I had gotten the last person alive into the security wall. I thought I was dead until I woke up here.”  
  


The house had gone silent when dinner was being served, Cara picking at the food for a moment, taking small bites. There was quite a bit of food for a family their size, though looking at the older sons scarfing down their steaks like they were wild Lurkers said enough.  
  
“Cara honey, you havent touched your meat… You have to eat if you’re going to heal and get stronger.” Mia said, rubbing her back gently.   
  
She couldn’t remember a time where she had a family like this. She had the members of the Underground, sure, but they weren’t all together like this. They all had their own homes, their own families. Samos was the only person who felt like family to her until Mia had invited her to her home. It was sentimental at the least. Cara took a big bite of her food, not trying to scarf it down but show more interest and gratitude.  
“There you go! Please help yourself to more, don’t let my sons scare you off the meat.”  
Cara smiled, chuckling as her three eldest looked offended.  
  
“I really appreciate your hospitality, Mia.”  
  
“Nonsense. We’re a community, we help our neighbors no matter how long they’ve been here.”   
  
_Community, huh? If only half the people in Haven were like this family…_  
  


The night went on without any hiccups, Cara had decided that she would stay the night—with little coercion from Mia— resting on their sofa.   
She awoke well rested and to the smell of breakfast cooking, groggily shuffling into the kitchen to see the three eldest up and helping their mother. Cara sitting at the table, watching tentatively.  
  
 _Do I offer to help? do i just… sit here…?  
  
_ “Cara! Did you sleep well, dear?” Mia had turned around to see her sitting here awkwardly.   
  
“Oh! Good morning! Y-Yes I did. Thank you again for letting me stay the night…”  
  
“Oh don’t be so formal.”   
  
Mia and her family were wonderful people, they had enough for their family but strived to give more for someone in need. It was refreshing to see people who cared about others. Cara left the wonderful home with many hugs;  
  
“Come back soon, okay? Don’t be a stranger!”

  
“Wouldn’t dream of it Mia! Thank you!”  
  
She had received word that King Damas was looking for her, taking the wooden lift elevator into the throne room.  
“Yes, sir?”  
  
“Artifacts are being uncovered by the sandstorm that approaches. I need you to collect every artifact that you can find before the storm rips the skin from your very bones.”  
  
Cara crossed her arms;  
 _Really? A fetch quest?  
_ “How do you intend for me to do that without a vehicle?”  
  
Damas didn’t look amused as he turned to face her.  
“We have a garage of cars just to the right of here. Go up the elevator, take a right and follow the path. There will be a large metal door that will open and you can take one of the three cars we have built.”  
  
“Cars?”  
  
“Yes. Now hurry, you do not have much time before the storm hits.”  
  


Damas wasn’t wrong, even in the city was getting hit by heavy gusts of wind carrying sand along with it. She made her way to the car garage to see three cars, all of them looking similar but varying in sizes. There was one that was small, had an antenna on the back of it, big wheels and a couple of support beams, covered in a soft material that had been tied on. The others were a little bigger and looked like it could fit two grown adults. She climbed into one labeled ‘Sandshark’ and pushed the pedals of the car. It Jerked foreward at first, causing her to lift her foot.   
She didn’t have time to be scared, she had to get going or Damas was going to complain that she couldn’t do something as simple as driving.  
She pressed the gas with her foot, hard, going from 0 to 60 in a few seconds flat as the exit doors opened. Cara was having a hard time steering, her eye being attacked by the sand along with her mouth and nose. She had nothing to cover them, barely seeing the artifacts through the storm and collecting them as best as she could until she couldn’t see anything else. Though that wasn’t as easy as she thought. There were other cars with spikes chasing her and trying to cut her off, mostly crashing into them until she noticed that her car was also equipped with mini-guns.   
  
_Alright it’s on!_  
  
Cara shredded through the spikey cars, collecting the artifacts she could see, until she felt the storm sucking her in practically. She pressed the gas again, shooting anyone or anything that got in her way as she reached Spargus once more. Her hair was swirled around in it’s pony tail, feeling it made Cara cringe. There were tangles that were never going to come out, not to mention her entire head was covered in sand. She could feel it burning her nostrils as she picked up the artifacts she collected and began to carry them back to King Damas. Unable to see, she had bumped into a tall figure, a loud ‘Ting!’ coming to her ears when she pressed into the person. The Artifacts wanting to shake from their pile, but Cara squeezing her arms tighter as she tried to move around the person.  
  
“Oh sorry about that!”  
  
“You need some help there, chilipepper?” His voice was deep, holding her in place as he took a few of the artifacts.  
  
“Hey! Give it back!”  
  
“Calm down, I’m just trying to help you.”   
When she could finally see him, she could see he had definitely been there for much longer than her. His skin dark, missing an eye, but it was replaced with a red sensor of some kind. He was covered in silver plate armor, the culprit of the ‘Ting!’ she heard earlier.   
By the time she had finished staring he had all the artifacts in a big sack, holding it for her;  
“Quite a steal of artifacts you found out there.”   
“Yeah. Look man, I don’t need your help. I need to get these to Damas so I can try to get the hell out of here.”  
“Lucky you, I was just about to go talk to King Damas. Why dont we walk together, Cherry?”  
  
Carah glared at him, he seemed so unfazed, unbothered by whatever she had to do. She snatched the bag from him, hoisting it over her shoulder.  
  
“It’s Cara.”  
  
“Sig. Nice to meet ya.”   
  
  


It was a quiet walk back to the throne room, along with a silent lift ride before they were face to face with Damas once more. 

  
“Ah, Cara! These artifacts will become handy indeed… and I see that you’ve met Sig.”  
  
“Yeah… just met him on the way here.”  
  
“I ran into her on my way here. There has been news in Haven City.”  
  
 _Haven City?  
  
_ “What news?” Cara interrupted, grabbing Sig by the arm, as if it would make him tell her faster.   
“Nothing that concerns you.” Damas spoke, quickly picking her arm from Sig’s. “Leave.”  
  
“But sir! Haven City—”  
  
“Do you not have ears? I told you it does not concern you and to leave.”  
  
Sig looked like an eldest child watching his Father fight with the youngest. Standing awkwardly as he waited for her to leave.   
Cara stared at both of them, her brows furrowing as she tossed the sack down from her shoulder and storming off. She couldn’t believe Damas. She didn’t care about this place as most wastelanders did. This wasn’t her home, she still had another place to go.   
She sat on the cliffs, watching the water splash against them as she tried to calm herself. She would get back to Haven eventually, right? He couldn’t keep her here once she earned her other two battle amulets… Did she even want to wait that long? Could she wait that long?  
She laid on the ground then, her legs still dangling over the cliff as she stared at the sky.  
  
 _Whats the rush?_ _Everyone thinks that you’re dead anyways… If one of those monsters carried you off in front of them they had to assume you’re not alive. Even you thought you were dead.  
  
But now I’m not, and i want to go back home…  
  
What if home isn’t there when I get back?_  
  


Months of simple fetch, capture, and destroy missions had lead Cara to this. She was once again summoned to the Arena to fight. She had cut her hair to a pixie cut, tired of the long locks slapping her in the face even when it was tied up. She got a tattered scarf to cover her face and tight fitting goggles fashioned by Mia, who had become her adoptive mother in a sense. Cara helping with her newest baby girl when she wasn’t busy with missions, she had integrated into the family despite her best attempts to stay away. Cara had adapted well to her new life, but she still felt like something was missing. She could help the people around her and still get the same satisfaction if she was helping the civilians of Haven City, but they were much more grateful that she helped them.   
Damas looked down at Cara from his chair in the arena.  
  
“It’s about time you got here. The people have been waiting patiently to see if you will pass your second trial.”  
  
“It’s about time you set it up, your highness.” She bowed as he looked offended for a moment, but he simply chuckled as he lowered her to the arena.   
  
Something about the wasteland gave her the strength to go on, to be fearless when faced with a horde of enemies. She was surrounded by the time she reached center stage, but she knew that these men around her definitely got their brains from the rocks around Spargus. They all moved in to attack, Cara pulling out her blaster and tripping a few of the men with a swift kick as she turned to shoot others. Some of them she had kicked off of the platform into the boiling lava below.   
She knew that out here it was survival of the fittest, and she was going to survive. What was the worst that could happen? She escaped death’s grasp once. She was caught off guard, one of the marauders slicing her back open with his sword. Her chest armor falling to the floor as she kicked the sword from his hand and using it to impale him. His dead weight causing her to drop him and the sword together, focusing on the ever growing crowd. That was until she heard loud beeping, the platform she was on was shaking and sinking into the lava. There was a crowd in her way, but they had to get off this platform or they would be dead. Cara took her blaster, blowing them back with ease, them knocked out on the floor for the new platform.

The arena was a bloody mess, Cara limping to the lift to recieve her prize. Another battle amulet to connect to the previous one and a beam reflector modification for her gun.   
  
“You’re shaping up to be a fine warrior.” Damas commented, smiling at her. “Go meet Kleiver in the car garage, there are wasteland Metal Heads that are killing our scouts.”  
  


Cara rolled her eyes, she hated doing missions with an escort. They would backseat drive, or worse, tell her that she’s a bad shot. Kleiver was the worst of all, he smelled like he was a smoked sweaty yakkow, his breath was completely intolerable and had a habit of wanting to pick a fight with her. She did as she was told, meeting Kleiver in the car garage, him sitting in the drivers seat of the dune hopper, the latest model of vehicle they made. It could leap into the air 20 feet and launched grenades through the front. 

  
“It’s about time ankle biter. Those marauders in the arena give ya trouble?” Kleiver teased, as always.  
  
“No, just—” She paused to count on her fingers, “About twenty of them and only one little old me.”  
  
Kleiver chuckled then, patting the passenger seat of the dune hopper.  
“Hop in.”  
  
“You’re kidding right? No way I’m getting in that thing.”  
  
“I’m not and ya are. What are you afraid of heights?”  
  
“I’m not afraid of anything.”

  
“Then hurry up and hop in.”  
  
Cara groaned, climbing up into the passenger seat, instantly getting that familiar sent of sweaty yakkow meat and wanting to puke.   
  
“I don’t know why you need me to tag along. If we’re going in the dune hopper you should be fine on your own.”  
  
“Well, after we get these nasty metal heads you’re going to collect an artifact from the temple, the road is a little rocky, the Dune hopper will get you up if the pathway has any holes… If you can see them.”  
  
He started to laugh darkly again, as was his nature. He was always teasing her of her own demise. 

Cara felt her legs go numb as they rode the dune hopper to chase these giant metal heads through the desert. It handled poorly, or Kleiver still couldn’t figure out how to control it, but riding in it was making her sick. She would hit the buttons for the grenade as they used the jump to give it more distance, but it seemed futile with Kleiver as the driver. It took twice as long for them to finish.   
  
“If we just would have taken the Sand Shark I wouldn’t be running late with this stupid artifact he wants me to get.”  
  
“Well don’t blame me, mate. You couldn’t land a single shot half the time.”  
  
He turned, watching as her face twisted into anger. She swore she felt like there were flames behind her head as she glared at him.  
They pulled into the car garage, Cara kicking him several times as he laughed to get him out of the dune hopper.  
  
“You mad, mate?”  
  
She didn’t answer as she kicked the car on and punched the gas heading for the temple on her map. It was up the side of a mountain, the roads had holes back to the sea, causing her to jump the gaps. She could feel her body lift from the seats each time she had to, feeling the adrenaline it her as she reached the top.   
Climbing down the dune hopper and entering the temple, she saw one small artifact waiting for her. It was cone shaped but instead of jewels decorating it there were these purple and white crystals sticking out of them. The purple one in particular giving off a strange aura as she placed it into her knapsack.   
  
_Not sure why Damas would need something like that…  
_

Cara made her way back to Spargus, but not before Damas had called her on a transponder;  
“Cara, there’s another storm coming. There are still some of our people stranded in the desert, I need you to bring them to a transport vehicle before it’s too late.”  
  
Cara sighed, not waiting for as much as a goodbye as she followed beeping sounds on her transmitter to find the warriors in need. As tedious and dangerous as it was, she had found everyone that she could hear a signal for. The storm coming in hard to where she couldn’t control the vehicle. She had hit the outer wall of Spargus, her vision blurry as she tried to persevere to the door, just barely making it inside as she felt her head fall into the steering wheel.   
When she came to, she was still strapped into the dune hooper, night had fallen and Cara still had her skin and the artifact. Unbuckling herself and leaping from the dune hopper was a mistake, her head instantly spinning. She definitely hurt something when she slammed into the wall. She slowly made her way back to the throne room, taking the lift up and hearing Damas speaking with Sig;  
  
“There’s still no sign of him?”  
  
“No, Sir. It’s being said that he was taken by Baron Praxis himself…”  
  
“Damn.”  
  
Cara made herself known, clearing her throat as to not eaves drop on something that didn’t concern her. As curious as she was, Damas wont let her leave the city, she was still earning her keep.  
  
“I see you’re still among the living.”  
  
“Here, Cherry.” Sig held out a cloth, Cara taking it but was confused. “Your head’s bleeding.”   
“Oh. Yeah. That makes sense.” She took the cloth, placing it over her eye looking to Damas, who looked amused.  
  
“Uh, Cara?”  
  
“Yeah?”  
  
“It’s uh… It’s the other side.”  
  
“Oh!”  
  
She placed the cloth on the opposite side of her head, where her unusable eye was. Seeing the blood on the cloth when she removed it to pat the area.  
  
“Anyways, Damas. I have your artifact and everyone that had their beacons on were brought to where they needed to be.”   
  
“Very good.”  
  
Sig looked her over for a moment, seeing her tattoos.  
  
“You’re an ex-Krimzon Guard, aren’t you? You have the tattoos the others have.”  
  
Cara looked to Sig, surprise marking her features.  
  
“I actually wasn’t. I was working for a resistance group to try to get information on what the Baron was planning.”  
  
“Oh, so you were a spy.” Damas sounded impressed, which didn’t come often from him.  
  
“One of the worst spies ever, actually. My transponder bug didn’t get any new information until it was too late.”  
  
“In your time with the guard did you see a little boy?” Sig asked, looking hopeful but Cara shook her head.   
  
“I didn’t but I didn’t spend much time in the Palace either.”  
  
“Mm.”  
  
“Are you missing someone, King Damas?” Cara decided to ask after picking at her fingers, not sure of how he would react to her asking for information.  
  
“Yes. Sig is my spy in Haven City, but I’ve been asking him to try to find my son Mar… It seems though I may never see him again.”  
  
“Right, your family comes from the house of mar. I don’t recall that you had a child…”  
  
“That’s because when the Baron betrayed him, he erased almost if not all the history that Damas had created so that no one would oppose his rule.”   
  
Cara forgot how much of a shithole Haven City was, wondering what made her in such a hurry to get back.  
  
“The new second hand of the Underground, Torn is on the search too.” Sig mentioned to Damas, not seeing Cara perk up at the name.  
  
 _He’s alive!  
Of course he’s alive, I saved him!_  
  
“I told him that if they find a small child that they need to protect him from the Baron.”  
  
“Can we trust him?”  
  
“Yes! You can.” Cara had interrupted Sig, whose mouth was slightly open to respond.   
Damas turned his attention back to her.  
  
“The resistance group you were apart of, I assume?”  
  
Cara nodded, smiling at the thought of Torn being a member. Of course if he stayed with Praxis after that stunt he pulled. The Underground was also down a member as well, so Samos probably had to take someone in after that.   
  
“Yes, it’s called the Underground. The new right hand is Torn, as Sig had said… He’s an ex-Krimzon guard and he’s the man I saved from a Metal Head horde when the Baron planned to lock us all out of the city.”  
  
“I did not ask for his life story, Cara.”  
  
“Oh, sorry.”  
  


Time passed like she was watching the hourglass drop the sand itself. She spent time distracting herself, hoping to hear news that little Mar had been found and was being watched by the underground, but no such news came. Damas had held his head high for his people, as usual when the time finally came for Cara to complete her final test. The arena shows all, afterall.   
There was a pause when Cara had come face to face with a man who looked like Torn. They could be related, for all she knew. He had long braided brown hair, blue eyes, but he was much older and hulking. He looked as if he was in his fifties in his face, but in his body he looked like any warrior. Scars had covered his body where there was skin, it couldn’t be him. _  
_The man only smiled at her as he began to attack, Cara snapping out of her trance. She should have known that Damas would use any weakness she had, but she didn’t know this man. He could be someone who happens to look like the man she was so desperate to get back to. Their weapons clashed, the force that Cara was pushing against him was nothing, Cara was visibly straining;  
“I’m sorry… But… I must win.” The man spoke as Cara began to feel the hot lava on her heels.   
  
_Is this where it gets me? I die in this arena surrounded by faces I don’t know and can’t even see? I wanted to see him one last time. Was that too much to ask?  
_  
Cara felt the despair hit her, but then there was a newfound hope with just a simple thought.  
  
 _I have escaped deaths grasp before. He will not take me without a fight!  
  
_ Cara had stepped on the man’s ankle, stepped on wasn’t the right word; she stomped on his ankle. Causing him to buckle over hand have their positions reversed;  
  
“Not today, sir.”  
  
It was then she pushed him into the lava, looking away as he screamed out. She wished it didn’t have to be that way. She had to get home.   
She rode the lift to Damas who looked rather pleased that she had finally unlocked her survival instinct to his satisfaction. She grabbed her things, feeling shame. She won but what did she gain? Her freedom? The chance to go back to a life she was deceased? What did that man lose besides his life?  
She supposed that she had a tender heart, she didn’t want to hear Damas’ words of praise. She had killed people before, but not a man that spoke to her. Most of them yelled and just went for the kill. She was now left with questions and answers would never come.   
  
_Maybe it’s better that I leave this awful place behind. I’ve been trapped here for a year._  
  
She looked at the vehicle she made, a car that could fold in it’s wheels and be used as a hovercraft. perfect for the streets of Haven city where there was nothing but hovercrafts. Began to pack her things, thanking Mia for her hospitality.  
“Mommy, have you seen daddy?” One of her young sons had asked, Cara freezing instantly.   
She hadn’t realized that her husband Darryl had been away from home the entire year, which was why the older boys helped out. Why would he be cast out in such a way where he couldn’t see his family? Was that man…?  
Mia looked at Cara, as if she knew what had happened, still giving her a soft smile.  
  
“Daddy isn’t going to be coming back dear. He fought bravely and lost his life.”  
  
Cara then realized what she had done. She left a family without a father, and Mia didn’t bear any ill will towards her. Or at the least, not infront of her son.   
“Can I speak to you outside, Mia?” Cara asked nervously, feeling like her eye was about to explode with tears.  
  
“Cara dear, it’s alright. It is the way of the arena.” Mia had patted her shoulder then, trying to ease her worry.  
  
“B-but I—” Cara stuttered, feeling her guilt fill her. That was why this man was so different, he was just trying to get home to his family for the first time in a year.  
  
“Cara, I’m so proud of you.” Mia was such a sweet and understanding woman; “If it was my husband’s time, it was his time. I’m just glad it was you… I know how much getting home means to you.”  
  
“But Mia how can I live with myself knowing i just robbed your newborn her father?”  
  
“It’s how things are, Cara. I don’t blame you, darling girl.”  
  
That was when Mia wrapped her in a warm, tight hug, the boys joining in too. Soon it was a group hug and a goodbye hug that she didn’t know she needed;  
  
“Cara you’re not the weak woman you once were, I am so proud of how much you have changed. I’m not angry with you. None of us will be. We understand the rules of the Arena.”  
  
Cara was sobbing on them for a long moment, she just wanted to go back home. What made her think she was so strong to handle all of this? What made any of the other deaths less meaningful? She was a murderer by circumstance, it wasn’t really survival of the fittest. Life was a game and Damas was playing it. She wanted to leave, run so far away and never come back. Yet the embrace and understanding from Mia and her family, how they just accept that the man of the house is dead, without hesitation. What kind of life is this for people?  
Cara wiped her nose and her eye, giving everyone a last hug before bursting into tears once more.  
  
“I’m so sorry! I will never— I can’t— How are you guys okay with this?” She sobbed, sniffling and hiccuping as she did so.  
  
“Now, now, Cara! We’ve been over this. We all understand that you did what you had to. You are always going to have a home with us, despite the tragedy that we lost Darius. It is how it is and no amount of blubbering will change that. Do you understand?”  
  
Cara still couldn’t wrap her head around how they wouldn’t want to kill her in return, but she had to accept the fact that her crying and being sorry did nothing. It made her look weak, but she just had a bigger heart than most would think. She grabbed her things and started her vehicle, ready to head home to Haven City.  
  
 _I’m coming home…_


	6. The Return

Cara drove through the door to see that there was a sand storm coming, wonderful. She couldn’t turn back, she needed to move forward. It wasn’t too bad, and she just had to make it to the beach on the opposite side of the desert.   
Her car was was thrown about by the winds, Cara trying to keep control and see ahead of her. Soon there was a calm to the storm, but not before a Metal Head came and lifted her out of her vehicle.  
  
“Agh!” It had bit into her arm to pull her from the car, but in the way the monster thrashed her about, her arm had broke. She cried out in pain, using her free arm to throw a grenade into it’s throat and pry herself free.   
She fell down into her car, transforming it into a hover car with a press of a button. She had to abandon the thought of slinging her arm, at least until she got away.  
Soon Cara had flown high into the sky, unable to see anything but the blue sea.   
  
_This is it… I’m finally getting back to Haven City! I get to see everyone again! I’m not dead!  
  
_ What she had forgotten was that the Metal Heads had been swarming Haven City, trying to break in and demolish the entire city. A swarm of flying Metal Heads coming at her vehicle, Cara trying to steer around them, using the guns she had equipped it with to kill a few that got in her way that she couldn’t avoid, but soon they had attached to the vehicle and began to eat away at it.   
  
_Of course… I’m so stupid, I didn’t think of a Plan B._

  
Cara unbuckled herself, deciding that she was going to have to jump when her vehicle finally stopped flying. Cara using her blaster to get the Metal Heads off, the car dipping down into the wall and falling faster at every minute. She tried using her cloak as some kind of parachute, but to no avail. She was going to have to jump to something she could hold on to. 

Then she remembered… She could only use one arm. She would only be able to hold on for a short time.   
She jumped from her car, gripping onto a light pole as her car crashed, bursting into flames. Sliding down the pole and in seeing the real damage, she realized that there was no way for her to repair it. It wasn’t the best quality, but it did it’s job.   
Cara took in the city around her, she must’ve looked so strange to people as she spun around in her hooded cloak. She pulled the hood up, hiding her fiery orange hair as she began to make her way back to the underground. Excited to return to her not so simple life, she hadn’t realized that a pair of teens appeared to have fallen from the sky in front of her. A girl with pure white hair tied in loose braids landed in front of her. She saw Erol stomp by, focused on a young man with blond hair, looking confused as the rest of the Krimzon Guard had come to seemingly arrest him.   
  
“J-Jak!” 

  
Cara saw the girl moving to run at them, pulling her back into the alleyway Cara was hiding in.   
  
“Let me go! He needs me!”  
  
“Calm down or you’ll be arrested too!”  
  
“I don’t care! Jak needs me!”   
  
Cara pushed her into the wall, not realizing how she towered over her;   
  
“What good are you to him if you’re arrested too? You wouldn’t be able to break out or prison and save him.”  
  
The girl had already had her eyes dripping with tears, watching in fear as the blond boy known as Jak was knocked out and taken away.  
  
“W-Where’s Daxter?”  
  
“Who?”  
  
“He’s an orange rat… He never goes anywhere without Jak… Did he really run away…?”  
  
Cara looked around, but didn’t see anything of her description. Cara keeping the girl hidden as Erol walked by the alley. The girl sobbing and reaching out to Jak, who could do nothing but lay limp over a Krimzon Guard’s shoulder.   
  
“J-Jak…” She hiccuped, Cara feeling her heart sink.  
  
“I need to—I have to go after him!” The girl was pleading almost, Cara’s grip on her arm tight enough to leave a bruise; “Ow! Let go!”  
“I told you before, that if you go after him now he will be in prison forever. If we’re really his only hope we need to play smart.”  
“W-We?”  
“Yeah, _we_! You think I’d let a kid do this on her own?”  
  


The girl paused, unaware that it was an option that a stranger would even involve themselves in her problems.   
  
“I’m Cara. I’m apart of this group called the Underground. We can help your friend.”  
  
“I… I’m Cai…” She looked around then, confused. “We’re definitely not in Sandover Village anymore…”  
 _  
Sandover Village? I’ve never heard of that place before. She must be from really far away… No wonder she was so freaked out.  
_  
Cara looked her over then, her clothes looked strange as well, but she couldn’t say much, since she looked just as strange. Cara backed up from Cai, remembering that she needed to sling her arm so that she wouldn’t forget that it was basically useless, minus the pain that she was feeling of course. Cai’s big eyes watched her as she made a sling and rested her arm into it. She was wearing a gauntlet that kept her from getting any holes, but it more than likely helped the Metal Head break her arm.  
  
“This is Haven City, I’m guessing you’re not from around here.”  
  
“No… We came through a rift gate we found.”  
  
“Rift gate?”  
  
“Yeah.”  
  
“We haven’t seen a rift gate in a long… Long time.” Cara had to think about it, but she definitely didn’t see the rift gate they came through either.   
  
“You guys just kinda… fell from the sky.”  
  
Cara had finally got her sling on correctly where her arm wasn’t in as much pain. She would be able to get Samos to fix it once she got to the Underground. She took a few steps forward, realizing that Cai wasn’t following her.  
  
“You coming or what?”  
  
“We fell from the sky?”  
  
“Yeah, out of nowhere. It was like you guys just appeared here.”  
  
Cai was looking confused, understandably so. Her boyfriend just got arrested, his best friend, rat, animal companion, ditched him and there she was, alone in a strange place.   
  
“Come on. We’ll figure it out.”   
  
Cara held her free hand out to her, hoping that she’d take it, but she gave her a look and just began to walk next to her.   
They made their way to where the Underground was, slowly. Cara making sure that Erol wasn’t going to come back for her or that nay of the Krimzon Guard that was walking around recognized her. She had the tattoos, despite her cloak covering her body, the ones on her face were clearly visible even with her hood on.   
  
“Do you know why they would want Jak?” Cai asked after a few blocks of walking.   
  
“No… But if Erol took him it’s going to be bad.” Cara looked over to see Cai’ worried face once more. “I promise you I’ll get him out. It might take a while, but i promise that we will save your boyfriend.”  
  
That was when Cai’s face flushed a deep red, the tips of her ears following suit;   
  
“H-He’s not my—”  
  
“Oh. Sorry… I just assumed cause of how you reacted… You know, when he got taken.”  
  
“He’s my best friend! We’ve been together since we were kids! Wouldn’t you react the same way?”  
  
Cara was taken aback by her yelling, but her face was still red.  
  
 _So cute.  
  
_ “Alright, you have a point.” Cara smiled at her then, they continuing their long walk through the city. People walking and driving all around them, Cai being interested in the hover vehicles.  
  
“These are much more advanced than the one Keira made for Jak and Daxter to ride through lava…”  
  
“Through what? None of ours could possibly do that.”  
  
“Well, not without power cells to power a heat shield. Or at least, that’s what Keira did.”  
  
“Power cells?”  
  
“Yeah… Do you not have them here?” Cai looked timid as she looked to Cara, who looked confused.  
  
“Uh… I think we use them to power the cars themselves… I’m not really sure.”  
  
“Oh.”

Silence fell between them once more as they walked through the city, but not after several questions about obtaining a hover car for Cai to feel the difference.  
  
“I told you, I would have to steal one, and I don’t personally want to be thrown back in jail if I get caught.”  
  
“You were in jail before?”  
  
“Yes, but I wasn’t doing anything wrong. I was being followed by that guy who arrested your friend.”  
  
Cara remembered being trapped in her cell, the sadistic smile made her shiver and jump back to reality.  
  
“He’s not a nice person by any stretch. But maybe the underground might have some answers why they would take someone like Jak and no one else.”  
  
They had finally reached the door to the Underground, their logo graffiti’d onto it. Cara raised her brow;  
  
 _Who’s idea was that? I thought we were supposed to be a secret?  
  
_ “Come on, Cai. Just go inside and we’ll get to the bottom of this.”  
  
Cai went through the door first, then Cara followed behind her, but making sure that there was no Krimzon Guards following them, as she had done the entire way there. Shutting the door behind her before she froze.   
Torn had his back to the door, but she knew it was him due to the red scarf around his neck. The brown dreadlocks triggered her memory of Darius, making her shut her eye and her head hurt.  
  
 _We have to put the past behind us. It was him or me… He knew that. Mia forgave us… It’s over.  
  
_ Cai had poked Cara in the arm, trying to get her to ay something. But Cara was frozen in place, grimacing at whatever she was remembering. Cai sighing and shuffling her foot;  
  
“Uh… I heard that you could help me…?”  
  
Torn seemed to be distracted by something, not turning to greet them as the sound of his fingers rubbing a blade could be heard.   
  
“You heard right, but we can’t help anyone right now without something in exchange.”  
  
“I’ll do anything!”  
  
“Sorry we don’t need any little—”  
  
Torn had finally turned around, Cara finally breaking out of her trance to lock eyes with Torn who was now frozen mid sentence. He was shaking, she couldn’t tell if it was in anger, in joy… Cai looked between the two, crossing her arms and tapping her foot. Then checking an invisible watch.  
  
“Uh hey… Not to break up the longful staring; but we’re kind of in a hurry? Remember? To save Jak?”  
  
Cara shook her head, her eye snapping back to Cai;  
  
“Right, sorry.”  
  
Torn snapping his eyes to Cai as well, his lips in a scowl. It wasn’t like she hasn’t been dear or something for a year. Cara knew she would have to catch up with Torn soon, now that she was back. But Cai came first.  
  
“Her boyfrie—”  
  
She could see Cai turn her head, face flushed and eyes wide, and angry…Definitely angry.  
  
“Ahem. Her friend Jak was arrested by Erol a few minutes ago. Would you know why they would target a kid with blond hair?”  
  
Torn crossed his arms, trying to think if there had been any transmissions as to why. He ducked under his desk, stacks of papers, them scattering across the table. Cai sighed, getting more aggravated. Cara trying to help look, but their search coming up empty and time being wasted.   
  
“You’re not planning a rescue mission are you?” Torn looked concerned, watching Cara with her broken arm and one working eye. She was practically one shake from death as is.  
  
“I was. Why?”  
  
“You should wait until The Shadow gets back, so he can fix your arm.”  
  
“I mean, yeah… but do we have that much time? I’ve been in that prison cell with Erol. It was not a good time.”  
  
“Is that where you’ve been this whole time?”  
  
“No.”  
  
“What are we going to do to help Jak? He’s never been alone before… He’s a mute and he’s not from here… I don’t know why they would want to take him.” Cai interrupted, trying to keep them on the task at hand. She wasn’t going to let them forget that, despite the game of catch up that they needed to play.  
  
“He’s a mute?” Torn and Cara had both said in unison.  
  
Mute’s weren’t common in Haven, hell anywhere you went someone had their mouth open spouting unwanted opinions or just having an idle conversation. Cara and Torn shared a shy smile before looking back to Cai.  
  
“So they wouldn’t want him for information, because they wouldn’t get anything out of him… They arrested him on the spot, it has to be for something… Maybe the Baron has some sort of plan?”  
  
Torn shook his head;  
“If there was something like that going on, Ashelin would have reported it in.”  
  
“Ashelin? As in Ashelin Praxis? She’s working with us now?”  
  
“Yeah, as a favor.”  
  
Cara felt something burn in her stomach, seeing Cai get annoyed that they were off topic once again. Rolling her eyes. Cara crossed her arms.   
  
“Oh.” She tried to sound more enthusiastic, but something stung about that.  
  
 _What was he supposed to do, wait for death to come? You guys weren’t even really exclusive. Just a few good heart to hearts. No need to be jealous over nothing.  
  
_ “So what are we going to do?” Cai seemed to disperse any petty energy that was coming from Cara, making her focus.   
  
“I guess I’m just going to have to go in and find out.”  
  
“Not with a broken arm, you’re not.”   
  
Cara felt herself glare at Torn then, the glare she shot seeming to make him sit down. Maybe she was turning into a monster, maybe she was being foolish, but she needed to help save Cai’s boyrfrie— best friend.   
  
“I’m just going to do some recon, figure out what’s going on.”  
  
“There’s no need for that, Ashelin—”  
  
“If you think Ashelin would be told something as big as this your head is really in the heart clouds.” She looked at Cai then, not wanting her to come with her in case things did get hairy. “I need you to stay here, okay? I’ll be back soon with the answers we need, at least.”  
  
“But if Erol is as bad as you said he is, Jak—” Cara placed her a hand on Cai’s shoulder.   
  
“I can’t save him with one arm, but I promise I will find a way to once we find out what they’re doing to him.”  
  
Cai gave her a sad smile, but nodded. Cara could feel how badly she wanted to see her friend again. She could understand too, giving one last look to Torn before leaving. Torn had practically jumped over his desk to come after her.   
  
“Cara wait! You can’t honestly think getting that information—that Ashelin doesn’t even have— will be that easy?”  
  
“Of course not Torn, but what choice do I have?”  
  
“The smart one, waiting for the Shadow to come back so you’re at your full strength? Going there now is suicide!”  
  
“What’s the problem? I’m already a dead girl walking.”  
  
Torn gripped her shoulders then; “Damn it, Cara!” He shook her lightly, his body seething with anger. Cara looked into his eyes then, getting the full force of his fear. He gripped onto her shoulders so tight he could leave bruises. Cara could only give him a sad smile and touch one of his hands with hers.  
  
“Torn, I may not be some crazy hero, but I want to help that girl. If I have to go to the prison to do so, then so be it. Worst case I come back with nothing.”  
  
“No." His grip tightened on her again. “Worst case scenario, someone finds you snooping and they kill you. I can’t deal with that again, I just got you back.”  
  
Cara gave him a sad smile, holding one of his hands. She stared at his hand, stroking the skin with her thumb.   
“I know… But I made a promise. I have— I have to at least try.”  
  
“The Shadow should be back soon, he can heal your arm— just wait…” His voice was begging her to stay, but she knew that she was going to need to go. At least try.  
  
“I’ll be back soon. I promise we can catch up then.”  
  


Torn watched her leave, she could feel his eyes on her as night fell. Cara pulled up her hood, trying to blend in with the crowd or appear as invisible as possible. Dodging the Krimzon Guard patrols and making sure that she was going the right way, she found the prison.   
The last time she was there she could barely see when she left. She hoped that there was a secret way in, or somewhere she could climb up to see, but it looked like she was going to have to try to disguise herself or just walk in like she was still apart of them. Her security clearance pass was outdated, the door not opening for her. She sighed, having to wait for someone to come out to ambush.  
A few minutes pass and finally someone leaves through the open doors. It was a guard in a yellow colored armor, he had a gun but everything else was relatively the same. She realized then that she wouldn’t be as efficient with her broken arm, maybe Torn was right. She should have waited, but the look on Cai’s face made her feel like she was the reason her croca-dog died. Cara waited for the guard to walk by the alley she was standing in, moving behind him and drawing a knife to press to his neck.  
  
“Wh—”  
  
“Listen closely and I wont kill you.” She tried to sound dark and intimidating, but she knew her lack of second hand betrayed her. “Where is the blond boy the Commander arrested today.”  
  
The guard laughed, making Cara press her knife harder into his neck, he seemed unfazed.  
“You really want to know? Go in there yourself.”  
  
 _They always have to play tough, huh?  
  
_ Without hesitation, she slit his throat. She felt him reaching for his gun to shoot her, or she thought. She let his body rest on her arm, trying to not get blood on the yellow armor as she stripped his body and pulled it on. She had tossed her cloak onto him, not really looking at him, but the flashes were still there. All those people she killed in the wasteland. Darius…   
  
_They were proud of me… They forgave me… Yet here I am doing the same thing._  
 _It’s kill or be killed, we’re on the brink of a war here.  
Keep telling yourself that.  
_  
Cara had to remove her broken arm from the sling, trying not to hurt herself any more than she needed to, she couldn’t remove her gauntlet, but she hoped that no one would notice. Taking the helmet and mask off off the dead corpse, avoiding the thoughts that she didn’t want and made her way inside.   
Inside the prison, there were closed doors that lead to different blocks of cells. Cara unsure of where to look, she started in Block A. There were many criminals in open cells, chained down and mutilated like she was. It was nice to see that Erol didn’t change…Not. She walked down the entire block and didn’t see any one who had blond hair. Going back to the main hall, she went down all of the blocks, not finding Jak at all. On her way out of the final block, she had almost run into Erol;  
  
“What are you still doing here?” He snapped at her, causing her to shrug. His eyes narrowed at her, looking her over;  
  
“You look… Different from when I last saw you.” He looked off then, shrugging and then looking back to her.   
  
“We’re transferring _that boy_ into the Dark Warrior Program. The Baron wanted him specifically. We’ll begin the dark eco experiments tomorrow. Is he ready for transfer?”  
  
Cara simply nodded, Erol smirking down at her. “Good. You are relieved of your duty.”  
  
Cara scrambled to her feet, walking to the door before she felt something pierce her rib and a loud sound of gunfire. Her legs fell from under her, her body collapsing to the ground. Her helmet surprisingly staying on. She wasn’t going to die, but she had to pretend, at least until Erol moved to retrieve Jak. She had fallen onto the steps on the outside of the prison, holding her side in a way for him to believe that she was going to bleed out. Once the door had shut she had removed the armor and retrieved her cloak from the corpse, shaking off anything that could have crawled onto it in the short time she was there. Draping the cloak around her shoulders and holding her now bleeding side, she made her way back to the underground. Trying not to draw too much attention, she grabbed one of the single zoomers that was parked on the street, making a fast getaway.  
  


She touched down at the underground, unaware of how much blood she had lost until she stood up. The pain in her ribs was nothing, but she had to get to the Underground door quickly before Erol found out that the guard he killed was a zombie. The moment she stepped in she saw that Cai had fallen asleep on one of the beds, Torn’s eyes snapping to her and trying not to panic.  
  
“What the hell happened?”  
  
“Erol shot me, it’s not that serious.” She had leaned on him then, she couldn’t keep her balance.   
  
“Not that serious? I told you that this would happen!”

  
Torn had held onto her, pulling her into the Shadow’s room through a door making her lay down on the bed and using a towel and his body weight to keep pressure on her ribs. Cara winced, but still had a smile on her face as she reached one of her clammy hands to his face. He was afraid again, she had to reassure him that she wouldn’t die from a wound like this. She was going to be fine.   
  
“Why didn’t you listen to me? You’re such a god damned moron, Cara!”   
  
Torn was biting his lip, his blue eyes wide, trying to focus on keeping pressure, making sure that she was going to survive. Her hand on his face bringing some comfort from that, but nothing made him relax more than Samos coming in to the room.  
“What happened here?” Samos looking over the two until he realized that it was Cara who was bleeding on his bed. “Cara? I thought— We—” Samos sighed, moving Torn off of her to use green eco to heal her bleeding wound.  
Looking at Cara he saw that she was losing consciousness, looking to Torn;  
“What happened?”  
“She went to the prison looking for this blond kid named Jak for the white haired girl out there. Cara didn’t want to wait for you to come back to heal her—”  
  
“Ah, I see she has a broken arm as well…”  
  
“Yeah. She didn’t wait, and Erol must’ve given her information he didn’t want leaving cause he shot her. ”  
  
Samos had finally healed the hole in her ribs, moving to her arms, seeing that one was still in Torn’s hand.   
  
“Is that the one that isn’t broken?”   
  
Torn nodded, watching him pry the gauntlet from her arm as a smell arose from it that couldn’t be placed.   
  
“Great yakkow bones! Where on eath as she been this past year?” The gauntlet was leaking sand as well, Samos trying to ignore the stench coming from the poor battered girl. 

Cara winced, feeling Samos gently pulling her broken arm to him healing the bone back slowly. Torn taking a moment to brush her bangs from her face, looking at her closed eyes, seeing the scars on one, it had turned white in color over the year they had been apart. Her hair was cut short, but it had grown out to an uneven bob shape. It made her look like a little housewife, Torn laughing at the thought.   
  
_She would never settle down like that._  
  
Cara opened her eyes, seeing that Torn was smiling as he looked at her. His cheeks turning pink and backing away from her as her vision focused.   
“H—Hey…” Her eyes were fluttering open, trying to wake up but failing to open and she passed out once more.   
  
“It’s a wonder that smell doesn’t wake her up.” Samos had been holding his nose by that point, the healing process almost complete.   
  
Torn shook his head, he’s smelt worse things than that. Of course, this was just a broken, extremely dirty arm. Samos dropped her arm, assuming the healing process was done, Torn hoisted her over his shoulders. The least he could do is clean her up, at least a little bit. He wasn’t going to force her into the shower like she was a drunk who was too far gone.   
  
“I have to leave, I must restore my powers in Haven Forest.” The Shadow looked to Cai, looking as if he recognized her for a moment, maybe he was examining her strange white hair, but he promptly left without another word.   
  


Cara woke the next morning, feeling like she slept better than she had in a whole year. She realized that her hair and clothes were a little damp, thinking that it was blood. Looking at the non-bloodied nature of the bed, she saw that it was water.   
  
_Torn must’ve cleaned me up last night… Without changing my clothes.  
  
_ She noticed the clean set of clothes, they looked like they belonged to a much younger woman. A pair of pants that rode on the hips, and a shirt that was cropped with long sleeves. Along with what looked like a clean— ah, nope— It was definitely her dirty gauntlet that was on her once broken arm. Finding the bathroom, she decided to finish the job Torn had started, washing her gauntlet, her body and putting the new clothes on. The shirt felt like it was squeezing her chest, causing her to pull the shoulders down off of her own. Was she a broad woman? Looking in the broken mirror she could see that she was more muscular than who’s ever clothes these were…  
  
 _Who’s clothes are these? I could hardly imagine Ashelin wearing something so… Casual? Where did Torn even get these?  
  
_ The pants were no better, they hung so low you could practically see her crotch! You honestly couldn’t, but it felt that way to her, a woman who had been wearing sandbags for pants for a year. They were also tight, giving her a light love-handle where they rested. She kept looking at herself, pulling the pants to where her ass wouldn’t be hanging out but to where it was still somewhat comfortable.   
  
_I’m definitely going to have to find some new clothes. These are way too tight and uncomfortable… Who’s freaking clothes are these?  
  
_ Cara moved to the main area where Cai was now awake, she looked like she was waiting patiently for her to wake up. Her face having a look of annoyance.  
  
“There you are! Finally! Your boyfriend said I couldn’t go in there and had to wait for you to wake up!”  
  
Now it was Cara’s turn to blush;  
“He—He’s not my boyfriend… And you should be thankful that he saved you from a great stench.”  
  
Cai blinked, unfazed by her comment.  
“So… what did they say about Jak?”  
  
“They said that they’re transferring him to the Dark Warrior Program… Whatever that is.”  
  
“You didn’t ask?”  
  
“Darling, I would have had I not been one, a wanted person and two in a very unconvincing disguise.”  
  
“Oh…”  
  
“I’ll have to do more digging, but I’ll find out where they’re taking him.”  
  
“You mean you _lost_ him?!”  
  
“He’s just been transferred to a place that I have no idea about…? I suppose that would count as losing him, yes.”  
  
“You promised me that we’d be able to get him back!”  
  
“I know but—”  
  
“You lied! You didn’t find out anything important! Now we have no _idea_ where Jak is now! He could be stranded in a desert for all we know!”  
  
 _Trust me, if he was stranded in the desert he wouldn’t be stranded for very long._  
  
“I just need more time to figure out what this program is and where they operate. I intend to keep my promise, but we have to do this where none of us get hurt.”  
  
“Like how you got shot last night?”  
Torn’s raspy voice came into the room, it sounding slightly tired but she couldn't really imagine he slept much after a scare like that.  
  
“You got shot last night?” Cai looked Cara over, seeing that her arm was also not broken anymore along with any injury she could have had was scarred over. “There’s no holes in her, and her arm has been healed too.”  
  
“That’s because our leader, The Shadow, can heal people. He fixed her up and had to leave again on an important mission.” Torn looked to Cai, looking annoyed.  
  
“But the only thing that can heal is green eco…” Cai murmured to herself, thinking for a moment before shaking her head. “Anyways! Jak needs to be saved from whatever this Dark Warrior Program is!”  
  
“Dark Warrior Program?” Torn looked to Cara then, realizing she wasn’t much of a conversationalist last night.  
  
“Yes, Erol said that Jak was being transferred to the Dark Warrior Program. I have a feeling that the Baron is behind this.”  
  
“Why wouldn’t Ashelin say anything about this?”  
  
 _Ashelin again?  
  
_ “I thought we said before that Praxis couldn’t possibly tell her everything.”  
  
“But if this is something he’s planning on using to save the city from the Metal Head leader why wouldn’t he?”  
  
“Because it has an inhumane process.” Cai perked up, feeling smart for a moment. “That has to be why it’s a secret, right? Maybe people have been dying from it. It’s why that Erol guy shot you!”  
  
Cara and Torn looked at one another; “You’ve got a point. If that's the case then we need to hurry and get him out of there.”   
  
“I’ll contact Ashelin and see what she can find about it.” Torn moved to the back room, supposedly to hop on a communicator that couldn’t be hacked into.   
  
Cara rolled her eyes, Cai smirking at her;   
“Gargled nails seems to get around.”  
  
“Gargled nails?”  
  
“His voice sounds like he gargled nails for breakfast.”  
  
Cara stifled a laugh, smiling at who she assumed who was going to be her new best friend. Holding her hand out for a high five;   
“That was good. I’ve never heard that one before.”  
  
“What did people usually call him?”  
  
“A softie.”  
  
“I could see why… He’s soft for you~”  
  
Cara saw the look Cai was giving her, punching her arm lightly.  
“We’re talking about _your boyfriend_ here.”  
  
“I _told_ you he’s **not _my boyfriend!_** ”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Missed yesterday due to the website being down... But I would like to thank my best friend, MikuXMew85 (Check her out please she's an amazing writer!!) for allowing me to use her OC Cai for my story!


	7. Jealousy, Explanations And A Blossoming Romance?

Cara and Cai seemed to have a mutual understanding that their friends were definitely not their significant others, but it seemed that they could still tease eachother about it. Cai sat on a bunk bed, Cara sitting down next to her feeling the seams of her borrowed shirt start to tense, making it hard to move.   
  
“I need to know who’s bright idea it was to give me these clothes. I feel like im being strangled.”   
  
Cai chuckled a little, looking her over and seeing the many scars that adorned her slightly tanned skin. Cara could feel her eyes on them, turning to look at the younger girl.   
  
“Got a lot of them from Erol, some of them from the people in the wastelands.”   
  
“Wastelands?” Cai’s brows were furrowed upwards in confusion. “There’s a place outside of this city?”  
  
“Well, I wouldn’t call it much of a place. It’s very dangerous and if you’re lucky you wont ever have to go there.”   
  
Cai pondered it for a moment, but nodded.  
  
“Yeah, with how rough and scary you looked when we met I hope I wont ever have to go.”  
  
“Word of advice to avoid that… Don’t play a hero and you’ll be fine.”  
  
Cai looked surprised, and slightly offended.   
  
“You mean to tell me I should just give up?”  
  
“No, of course not. Just make sure you have enough time to save yourself too.”  
  
Torn had walked back into he room, Cara unable to tell if he was embarrassed or frustrated, his cheeks red.  
  
 _Ashelin must’ve buttered him up real nice.  
  
_ “So…?” Cara tapped her foot impatiently. Not wanting to wait for Torn to compose himself, Ashelin must’ve had a way with words. He was practically speechless.  
“Ahem.”  
  
She cleared her throat, looking irritated now. Cai waiting just as impatiently, crossing her arms.   
  
“Ashelin says she’s on it.”  
  
“So she’s not heard a thing? What a surprise.”   
  
“How is she supposed to know about some secret program Erol is having?”  
  
“If she was smart she would know that Erol is always trying anything to please her father. She should be noticing something.”  
  
 _Besides you.  
  
_ Torn clenched his fist;  
“She’s one of our top informants, and is smarter than you give her credit for.”  
  
“Ha. Okay. Last time I saw her she was a teen flirting with the captain of the guard. Great to see that hasn’t changed.”   
  
_Why am I getting jealous of her? I already know that Torn and I are just friends… But the way he looks at me… I wish he would stop, yet a part of me wants that.  
_  
Torn looked angry, a little offended that she would even bring that up, but mostly angry.  
  
“What does that have to do with anything?”  
  
Cara paused, clicking her tongue.  
  
 _It doesn’t have anything to do with anything. Just wishing that i could figure out what you want from me.  
  
_ She sighed;   
“Forget it. I’m leaving.”  
  
“Where are you going?”  
  
“To get out of Ashelin’s stupid clothes! I can barely move in this crap.”  
  
“Those aren’t Ashelin’s.”  
  
“Oh great, starting your own harem are you?”  
  
“That’s not—”  
  
“I thought you’d be classier than that, Captain.”   
  
Cai was left in the aftermath, Cara feeling guilty about that slightly, but she had to get out of there. Out to think, out of these tight clothes. It didn’t matter whose they were, they weren’t her style, and definitely not her size.   
Cara found herself at a small clothing store, finding a pair of mid-rise pants and a loose off the shoulder shirt. She kept looking in the mirror, at all her scars, how toned her body appeared from all the running and climbing she had to do in the wasteland. Everything changed so fast. She knew that Torn’s world didn’t revolve around her, that they barely knew one another besides “flirtatious” banter, but some part of her wanted them to be more than the facts. Facts were, he was with Ashelin or at least interested in her. She could see it on his face, he would defend her tooth and nail, even if Cara didn’t trust her.   
  
_What am I doing here? I don’t belong here anymore either._  
  
Cara was so desperate to get back to haven city, to have no place here as well. Her only mission was to find Jak, and she couldn’t even do that on her own. She was so lost in her thoughts she hadn’t realized there was a prickling feeling on her leg, looking down to see a strange bug. She knocked it off of her with a good few slaps, then stomped on it.   
  
_Strange… I don’t remember any bugs in the city.  
  
_ Cara folded the borrowed clothes and brought them to the counter, the tags pulled from the clothes she was wearing.   
  
“Did you find everything okay miss?”  
  
“Uh yeah, just fine. I thought I should say you might want to get a exterminator out here. I found a weird bug crawling on me while I was trying these on.”   
  
Cara watched the girl behind the counter’s eyes go wide, instantly picking up the phone and dialing a number.  
  
“Yes, Osmo? I need you to send some one right away. A customer found a bug crawling on her in the dressing room. Okay… See you then.”  
  
Cara moved to give her a precursor orb in exchange for the outfit, but the girl behind the counter shook her head;   
  
“Oh no ma’am you can keep them, free of charge for the trouble.”  
  
“Oh I couldn’t—”  
  
“Please, it’s the third time this week someone’s seen bugs in the store. It’s the least that I can do for you.”  
  
Cara bit her lip, deciding to take the clothes. Opening the door to see an orange rat scurry by;  
  
“Hey, good lookin’! Hear you were looking for an exterminator?” He was talking to the woman on the counter, equipped with some sort of electric fly swatter and a sprayer attached to his back.  
  
Cara squinted, looking at the rat.   
_I’ve seen him before… Wasn’t he with Jak?_  
  
“Wait a minute. What are you doing here?”  
  
The orange rat turned to her, looking as if it was obvious what he was doing.  
  
“Uh, you guys called, for an exterminator? I’m him?”  
  
“No I mean…” Cara stopped, maybe it was some other orange rat. “Nevermind, you looked familiar is all.”   
  
“Trust me lady, I have never seen you before in my life.” The rat turned away from her then, getting to work on finding where the bugs were coming from and Cara went on her way.  
  
 _I was so sure that was that… Daxter… that Cai mentioned. But why wouldn’t he be trying to save Jak… Like Cai is? He’s his best friend isn’t he?  
  
_ Cara was so confused, what kind of bug was that anyways? There was so much going on in this city, where was her place in the Underground? Torn seemed to be leading as second hand well, the only person who needed her help was Cai, and that was becoming easier said than done.   
Now with Ashelin being in the know, it made her job twice as hard, too. She was sure Erol was going to be extra sneaky with this Dark Warrior Program. With the last precaution he took, she knew she wouldn’t be able to go in disguise. If Ashelin didn’t already know, there wasn’t anything else that she could find out without being suspicious. If Baron didn’t know she was working for the underground as well. 

  
_Praxis is no fool, he probably knows that she’s in contact with Torn. He’ll use that against him one day I’m sure._   
  


Cara had finally made it back to the underground, Cai laying on the bunk bed alone. She looked bored, and slightly aggravated.  
  
“There you are! It’s about time you got back!” Cai had sat up, throwing her hands up; “Gargled nails was so angry and red in the face he sent me to the pumping station to go look for a precursor orb.”  
  
“Oh… Did you find it?”  
  
“No! I even checked to see if it was buried in the sand! I looked for an hour! Nothing! Nada! Zip!”  
  
Cai looked so frustrated, Cara couldn’t help but chuckle, but also feel guilty. If she hadn’t gotten so snippy, maybe he would’ve given her an actual mission.   
  
“Ah… So he sent you on a nowhere mission.”  
  
“You could say that! Yeah!”  
  
“Sorry… I guess I’m not as great of a friend, going for a shopping spree and not taking you with me.”   
  
“I’m not mad about that! I’m mad that your boyfriend—”  
  
Cara looked a little hurt by the comment, it wasn’t a joke now it was just making things worse; “He’d rather be with Ashelin, if you couldn’t tell.”  
  
“Ah, but… you didn’t see how hurt he was when you left and didn’t look back.”   
  
“He’s still with Ashelin, we’ve had one date and it was accidental. All we have going for us is our banter… Which isn’t much compared to all the time Ashelin and Torn have known eachother.” Cara sat down, looking defeated. “I’ve been dead for a year, I can’t expect him to still have those feelings he was adapting back then.”  
  
Cai paused, thinking of how to get her to realize that Torn, despite the time apart still had some feeling towards her. He just couldn’t handle the sass from Cara. It was like he had this picture perfect girl in his head. Cai shook her head, like she could tell that about someone just by watching them.  
  
“Maybe… But I know what I saw when he saw you leave.”  
  
“Hmph. Where did he go anyways?”  
  
“No idea, he was gone by the time I came back.”  
  
“Hm. I suppose I should try to see where he went off to. Then again, he’s a grown man, and probably fine.” Cara laid back on the bunk across from Cai. “Maybe I should just stay put.”  
  
“But what about Jak?” Cai looked disappointed, worried even. Cara sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose.  
  
“Until we find out more from Ashelin about the Dark Warrior Program, I can’t just go bust him out of wherever he got transferred to.”  
  
“You can’t find that out sooner?”  
  
“Last time I got shot in the ribs, anyone who goes near this project is basically dead if they’re too close. I hope Ashelin realizes that. Or at least Torn explained what happened.”  
  
Cai groaned, already tired of waiting helplessly but she didn’t see how bad of shape Cara was in when she came back that night. If she did, maybe she would understand better of how dangerous this was.  
  
“Not to mention, if I get captured lord knows what Erol would do to me. Since I’m technically dead, you know.”  
  
“Yeah, you’ve mentioned that.”  
  
“Well, I saved old Gargled Nails’ life a year ago. I thought I was dead but ended up in a much worse place.”  
  
“Where was that?”  
  
“Spargus… It’s run by a man named Damas, he judges peoples worth by how well they can fight.”  
  
“That sounds… barbaric?”  
  
“Well what about this Sandover Village? By the look of you it’s like you’re from very far away.”  
  


Cara and Cai talked for what seemed like hours, bonding over stories of home. Laughing and laying on the beds like it was some kind of sleepover.  
  
“So then Daxter told Jak to hit the wumpbees nest, saying it was his pinata!”   
  
“Oh no!” Cara couldn’t help but laugh, so many shenanigans.  
  
“Poor Jak… His hands and feet have been permanently swollen ever since.”  
  
“You three seem to be so close, so much time spent together.” Cara was jealous, she would give anything for a simple childhood like that.   
  
“Yeah… Now we’re all separated… I don’t even know where Daxter or Keira, or Samos are… It’s so lonely here.”  
  
 _Samos? She just got here, there’s no way she knows Samos…  
  
_ “Well, you may not have your childhood friends… But I can be a friend, if you want.”  
  
“What kind of question is that? Of course we’re friends! I just wish we could find my other friends.”  
  
“…You said… Samos earlier? What did he look like?”  
  
“Oh well he’s this old grumpy man with a long white beard, a split log tied in his white hair, green skin and weird glasses. He would make Daxter his slave practically. I don’t know how many times Samos had his scrub the floors of his hut.”  
  
“The rat did all that?”  
  
“Oh well, he wasn’t always a rat. He used to be a person like us, just one day Jak and Daxter went out to Misty Island and Daxter fell into a giant pool of dark eco. He came back out looking like that.”  
  
“Misty Island? A pool of dark eco?”   
  
Cara was so confused, were there more green skinned people? Were they all named Samos? Her description would be spot on if Samos had gotten older, but he was still nicer than what her Samos sounded like. Cai’s world sounded so vastly different than Cara could even imagine.  
  
“Yeah, Samos told them not to go… But boys will be boys I suppose.” Cai shrugged.  
  
“Sounds like Samos, it’s like he as some instinct for people getting into trouble.”  
  
“You know Samos? You’ve ran into Samos and you havent brought him here?”  
  
“I know a Samos, it’s just not the Samos you’re talking about.”  
  
“What the hell does that mean? There’s only one Samos!”  
  
“Well, the Shadow is named Samos, but he hates teleporting and has been here for as long as I can remember… so he couldn’t be the Samos you came through the rift with.”  
  
Cai looked like her head was spinning, how could there be more than one Samos.  
  
“If he comes back I can introduce you, but I don’t know what good it could do.”  
  
“It just doesn’t make sense…”  
  
“I know, but you guys falling from the sky didn’t make much sense either.” 

The night went on, Cai falling asleep waiting for the shadow to return, but he didn’t. He was working on more important missions she supposed, Torn coming in a short while after.  
  
“There you are. Where have you been?” Cara tried to sound genuinely concerned, standing up to greet him.  
  
“None of your business.” Torn looked aggravated that she would even bother asking him, her brows raising in confusion.  
  
“What do you mean none of _my_ business? We work for the same people, why can’t you tell me?”  
  
“What about you? Where the hell did you go? Why didn’t you tell me you were back here?”  
  
Cara then realized he was looking for her, whether it was before or after he met up with Ashelin to see what she knew about the program they were looking into… or if he was looking for her the whole time she was gone.  
  
“I don’t have anything but this.” She pulled out a beacon that was made of the three parts that she received from Damas for completing her trials. “I don’t think it would work for your security pass.”  
  
Torn still looked angry, Cara deciding that it was time to tell him what happened. To explain everything and where she was, but deciding to leave Damas out of it. She didn’t want Torn to call on him to try to fix this mess, he wouldn’t.  
  
“I thought I was dead after I got you into the wall. I was only going to slow you down if both of us tried to make it and I knew the Shadow would take care of you.” Cara was holding one of his hands, him not looking at her as she stroked the skin on his hand.  
  
“So you had been apart of the underground movement the whole time you were in the Krimzon Guard? I knew there was something different about you.”  
  
“Yeah…” She scratched the back of her head. “I expected to be found out almost instantly. Erol was the only one who tried to beat it out of me after my suspension.”  
  
“He what?”  
  
“The day I was supposed to meet up with you at the Hip Hog, Erol arrested me and I was trapped in the prison. He literally almost beat me to death to try to get information on the underground out of me.”  
  
Torn’s eyes widened, obviously unaware that such a thing occurred.   
“I just thought you blew me off.”  
  
“Why would I do that? I’m happy you remembered, sad that the circumstances could have been different.”  
  
“Why didn’t you tell me?”  
  
“That I was apart of the Underground? That I got captured by Erol to be released soon enough to join the fight in that dead part of the city?” Cara chuckled, looking away form him. “Because none of that mattered by the time I saw you again. I just knew we needed to get into the wall before the Baron closed it.”  
  
“I meant before then, you could tell I wanted to help the people in any ways that I could.”  
  
“I didn’t know that… I had to be careful, it was my first big mission and I thought I failed for a time, but I completed it and went back to my usual underground duties.”  
  
Torn watched her body language, she was sure she looked down thinking about that.   
“But then I did something bigger than myself… I _saved_ you. I was happy to do that for the city.”  
  
Cara smiled at him, he still looked slightly confused. She didn’t know what Torn thought about himself, but the way he looked away and down at his hands made it seem like he didn’t appreciate her sacrifice.  
  
“I was so helpless and felt guilty for what you did.” He finally spoke, his tone low. “I thought I was never going to see you again, that your death was so meaningless if I didn’t do something to help the city.”  
  
“And here you are, a sort of leader of the Underground. You’re doing a much better job than me.”  
  
Torn wrapped his arms around her, catching her off guard as he squeezed her slightly. Cara wrapping her arms around him and resting her head on his shoulder. It might be the last time that they could do that without it being incredibly awkward. Not that Cara wasn’t already blushing at the non-combative contact.   
  
“Torn…”  
  
“I’m so glad you’re alive… I didn’t think we’d be able to be together like this again.”  
  
This soft side was so new, Cara blushing harder as he pulled her closer.   
  
_Together like this? What does he mean? We’re just friends right? I don’t think he has romantic feelings for me…  
  
_ “What about Ashelin… aren’t you two…?”  
  
Cara felt his face heat up, his chin resting on her as he thought.  
  
“Ashelin is the Baron’s daughter, I couldn’t be with her like this… even if I tried.”  
  
Cara felt her warm feelings fade, something about his words rubbed her the wrong way. Did he have reciprocated feelings for Ashelin or was he not even interested?   
  
“What’s that supposed to mean?” Cara had pulled herself from him, holding him at arms length as she watched his face.  
  
“It means that I couldn’t be with Ashelin even if I wanted to. She’s practically a princess, you know that.”  
  
“But you want to be with her?”  
  
“Does that matter right now?”  
  
“Yes!”  
  
“Why?”  
  
Torn had been holding her in place so she couldn’t just run away from what her heart was telling her. That she had feelings for this man, despite her best efforts to thwart them. She didn’t know how or when these feelings developed, or even how they had remained after a year apart.   
  
“Isn’t it obvious?” Cara felt her brows furrow in worry, hearing Cai’s voice from behind them.  
  
“Cai, you’re awake!”   
  
“I see you guys were finally getting your much needed alone time, but I’m starving.”   
  
Cara hadn’t looked back to Torn, who seemed red with anger that they were so rudely interrupted by the poor child. Cara gave him a small smile, tapping him on the arm. 

  
“We can talk later, I’m hungry too. Arent you?”  
  
Torn shook slightly, until his stomach decided to emit a noise similar to the growl of a metal head.   
  
“Let’s go to the Hip Hog, there should be a decent menu that she can pick from.”  
  
“You realize the kid wouldn’t be able to get through the front door without being kicked out.”  
  
“Hm… You do have a point. What do we have here then?”  
  
Torn placed what looked like an unreasonably sized can of yakkow meat. Cara and Cai both cringing at the thought of eating anything that came out of the can.   
  
“We don’t have anything else?” Cara asked, hopeful but Torn only smirked, placing another large can of some unknown fruit or vegetable. The label was torn, it was a wonder if it was even still edible.  
  


After a long, loud whining fest by Cara and Cai, Torn made something decent that would fill their stomachs. Cai taking a cautious first bite, but despite the taste of the can, it was still decently edible and it worked. It filled the empty hole in her stomach, as it did for everyone.   
  
“Did Ashelin have any new information on the Dark warrior Program?” Cai asked through a mouthful of food.  
  
“I haven’t heard her report anything back, no.”  
  
“Do we really have to wait for her?” Cara asked, getting a glare from Torn.  
  
“Do you have a death wish?”  
  
“If I can make this go faster, I really would like it to happen sooner.”  
  
Torn sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. Having Cara back made him happy, she could see that, but she did know that she’s very one track mind when it came to her missions. If there was a quicker way to get things done, she wanted it to be done.  
  
“Ashelin hasn’t reported back, we need to wait for her information to form a plan that won’t get you killed.”  
  
“I will wait, but I know she isn’t going to have anything useful. If Baron Praxis and Erol are behind this, anything Ashelin finds out could be bogus information.”  
  
“We’re just going to have to wait and see.”  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  



End file.
